Poland marks the 85th anniversary of Nazi invasion

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda pays homage to victims. Pic/AFP

Poland's leaders stressed the need for a strong defense in the face of war in neighboring Ukraine and redress as they led solemn ceremonies early Sunday to mark the 85th anniversary of German Nazi forces invading and bombing Polish territory at the start of World War II.

Sirens wailed and a memorial bell tolled as President Andrzej Duda and deputy ambassador of Germany, Robert Rohde, attended an observance in the town of Wielun, the first civilian target of German bombing in the small hours of Sept. 1, 1939. Some 1,200 people were killed in the attack which witnesses say began at 4.40 am.

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"We can say that we have forgiven even though we remember, even though the pain is persisting and even though there are still tens of thousands of those who have been directly hurt by the Germans," Duda said. He also called on Berlin to make amends.

Meanwhile, at a monument on the Baltic Sea's Westerplatte peninsula, where a military outpost was shelled by a German warship just minutes after Wielun was attacked, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz laid wreaths and attended a memorial roll call for fallen soldiers.

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