You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Kniefall von Warschau]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Kniefall von Warschau}} to the talk page.
Kniefall von Warschau (lit.'Warsaw kneeling' or 'Warsaw kneel'), also referred to as Warschauer Kniefall, refers to West German ChancellorWilly Brandt's gesture of genuflection before a memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during a state visit to Poland in 1970.[1] Perceived as a sign of profound humility, images of Brandt's action received world-wide attention. More broadly, the gesture came to symbolise Ostpolitik, Brandt's ultimately successful policy of diplomatically reconciling West Germany with its eastern neighbours following the Holocaust and the Second World War.
Event
The event took place on December 7, 1970, in Warsaw, Poland, during a visit to a monument to the German occupation-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. After laying a wreath, Brandt unexpectedly, and spontaneously, knelt. He remained silently in that position for a short time (about 30 seconds), surrounded by a large group of dignitaries and press photographers.[2] Brandt had actively resisted the early Nazi regime, and had spent most of the time of Hitler's reign in exile. The occasion of Brandt's visit to Poland at the time was the signing of the Treaty of Warsaw between West Germany and Poland, guaranteeing German acceptance of the new borders of Poland. The treaty was one of the Brandt-initiated policy steps (the 'Ostpolitik') to ease tensions between West and East during the Cold War.
On the same day, Brandt signed the Treaty of Warsaw, which acknowledged the Oder–Neisse line as the final German border with Poland. Both actions attracted controversy within Germany, as did Ostpolitik in general, which was supported by only a narrow majority of the people and had opposition within Brandt's own Social Democratic Party. Its voters had included a significant proportion of expellees from the formerly-German territories in Poland, most of whom left to support the conservative parties.
According to a Der Spiegel survey of the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the Kniefall was excessive, 41% said it was appropriate and 11% had no opinion.[3] Brandt's victory in the next elections, in late 1972, was also due to the growing view among voters that Brandt's Ostpolitik, symbolized by the Kniefall, and his reformist domestic policies were helping to boost Germany's international reputation and so should be supported. His party won its best federal election result ever.
While at the time, positive reactions may have been limited, his show of humility was a small but vital step in bridging the gaps World War II had left between Germany and Eastern Europe. In historical terms, Brandt gained much renown for this act. He was named Time Person of the Year in 1970, with the magazine highlighting the Kniefall as one of the main reasons for his recognition,[4] and it is thought to be one of the reasons he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
Brandt was repeatedly interviewed about the genuflection and about his motives. He later noted that:
(German original) "Am Abgrund der deutschen Geschichte und unter der Last der Millionen Ermordeten tat ich, was Menschen tun, wenn die Sprache versagt."[5]
(English translation) At the abyss of German history and under the weight of millions of murdered people, I did what people do when language fails.[6]
Egon Bahr, an eyewitness and Brandt's friend and political ally of many years, recalled in a 2010 interview: "The only thing he said was that at that moment facing the ribbon, he thought: Just laying the wreath is not enough."[7]
