Polish, German and Israeli presidents mark 80th anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Apr 19, 2023 | History, Politics

The presidents of Poland, Israel and Germany have jointly commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising at a ceremony in the Polish capital.

Poland’s Andrzej Duda used his speech to hail the Jewish insurgents as a “symbol of bravery, determination and courage, our heroes, who fought for a free Poland”.

His Israel counterpart, Isaac Herzog, likewise described the ghetto fighters as “a symbol of heroism” during “humanity’s darkest hour” and “a symbol of the thousand-year history of Polish Jews”.

Germany’s Frank–Walter Steinmeier, meanwhile, expressed his “deep shame” at the “terrible crimes that Germans committed here” and “asked for forgiveness”. During his visit, Steinmeier was handed a copy of Poland’s claim for German war reparations by a Polish government minister.

Warsaw’s ghetto, established in 1940, was the largest created by Nazi Germany. At one point it held around 460,000 Jews captive in an area of 3.4 square km (1.3 square miles).

In 1943, the Germans began the liquidation of the ghetto, deporting its inhabitants to the gas chambers of Treblinka extermination camp. That prompted Jewish underground fighters to launch an uprising that began on 19 April 1943 and became the largest single act of Jewish resistance during the war.

Hundreds of Jewish fighters, with support from the Polish underground resistance, took on the might of the German army for almost a month before being brutally suppressed.

Thousands of Jews were killed during the uprising, with tens of thousands more deported to extermination camps afterwards. The ghetto was then razed to the ground.

This year’s 80th anniversary was marked by a variety of commemorations and other events around Warsaw, including a new exhibition at the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

In an annual tradition, thousands of volunteers handed out paper daffodils for people to wear. The flower has become a symbol of the uprising after one of its leaders, Marek Edelman, who survived the war, placed daffodils at the uprising monument in Warsaw on each anniversary.

Also as in previous years, sirens were sounded and church bells rung around the city for 60 seconds at noon to mark the anniversary.

Afterwards, the three presidents spoke to an audience of over 1,000 – including Holocaust survivors, foreign officials, and Polish government ministers – on Warsaw Ghetto Heroes Square.

“Today we bow our heads low before the heroes of the Ghetto Uprising, those who fought against hatred and Nazism for their freedom and dignity, Polish Jews, Polish citizens, who never gave up, never lost their spirit, who are a great example for all of us to this day,” said Duda.

That includes being an example for “every soldier who defends the borders of Israel and for us Poles who guard the borders of Poland, for all those who serve in the Polish army”, he added, noting that many Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors went on to help establish the state of Israel.

Speaking after Duda, Herzog said it would have been hard for the insurgents to believe that, 80 years later, the presidents of Poland, Israel and Germany would together be paying tribute to their heroism.

He thanked Duda for his “enormous efforts dedicated to commemoration” and expressed his hope that “the destruction that has befallen Poland and many other countries is a platform for dialogue between Poland and Israel, for deepening friendship between our nations”.

Poland and Israel have been locked in a number of diplomatic disputes in recent years over Holocaust history, most recently with regard to Israeli youth study trips. However, the two countries’ governments recently reached an agreement that is intended to allow those visits to resume.

Finally, Steinmeier took to the stage. While “it is hard to come here as a German and as president of Germany…I am grateful and humbled by the fact that I can participate in these commemorations,” he said. “I bow my head to the brave fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto.”

“Their courage still influences us today,” added Steinmeier. “Their message is to preserve the memory and pass it on so that what happened does not happen again…That is why it is so important for us Germans to remember…I am here today to say that we Germans are aware of our responsibility.”

During his visit to Warsaw today, Steinmeier was handed by Piotr Gliński – a deputy prime minister and culture minister – a copy of the report that has formed the basis for Poland’s claim that it is still owed war reparations by Germany. Berlin has rejected that claim, arguing that the issue of reparations is already legally settled.

Main image credit: Marek Borawki/KPRP 

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