Germany Seeks Forgiveness From Poland 80 Years After WWII Start

Polish Premier Morawiecki renews call for wartime reparation
Trump canceled attendance at WWII events due to hurricane

Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Andrzej Duda during an event marking 80 years since the start of World War II, Sept. 1.Photographer: Krzysztof Sitkowski/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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By Marek Strzelecki and Justin Sink

September 1, 2019 at 9:14 AM UTC

Updated on

September 1, 2019 at 11:58 AM UTC

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Germany made an emotional appeal for forgiveness to neighboring Poland 80 years after the start of World War II that was met by a renewed demand for reparations by the fellow European Union member’s prime minister.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, filling in after a cancellation by President Donald Trump, praised Poland‘s wartime heroism at the commemoration and said the evils of Nazi and Communist totalitarianism amounted to a period in history when men had “forgotten God.”