Poland Remembers 80th Anniversary of World War II
The anniversary of the 1st of September 1939 was observed across the globe, as it marked the 80th year since the world was – for a second time – at war.
Poland commemorated the anniversary – the day on which Germany invaded Polish lands – on Sunday, by sounding air raid sirens and receiving German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
World leaders also gathered in Warsaw, Poland, to observe the day when the conflict broke out.
Mr Steinmeier delivered a speech, apologising for the “horrific war” of the Nazi regime, which he called a “German crime”.
He said: “I bow in mourning to the suffering of the victims. I ask for forgiveness for Germany’s historical debt. I affirm our lasting responsibility.”
His Polish counterpart, Andrej Duda, and US Vice-President, Mike Pence, also gave speeches to those gathered in Pilsudski Square.
Those in attendance included elderly war veterans wearing military uniforms, and a Holocaust survivor who wore the striped prisoner’s garb with the yellow Star of David.
Approximately six million Polish citizens died by the end of the war in 1945, and over half of them were Jews.
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