Poland Among States Unhappy with Berlin Ceremony Guest List

Relations between Germany and some of its neighbors have soured after Chancellor Helmut Kohl decided not to invite those countries’ leaders to ceremonies marking the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.

Poland, in particular, felt snubbed by Kohl’s refusal to invite President Lech Walesa to the May 8 ceremonies in Berlin.

He said that if he invited the Polish leader, he would also have to invite leaders of other countries overrun by the Nazis in the war.

Kohl instead decided to ask those governments to send diplomats to the ceremonies.

The Polish foreign minister, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, criticized Kohl’s decision not to invite Walesa, saying Poland “should not be absent or in the second row of importance” at the commemoration. Bartoszewski is a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp and a former underground fighter.

He referred to the 6 million Poles who died during the war and that the Poles fought on every front with the Allies against the Nazi regime.

Despite his criticisms, Bartoszewski has agreed to address the German Parliament at a special ceremony April 28. After meeting with Rita Sussmuth, president of the German Parliament, Bartoszewski said he was honored by her invitation.

The foreign minister also said Poland would hold its own ceremonies commemorating the end of the war against Germany.

Among those invited to the May 8 German ceremonies are U.S. Vice President A1 Gore, British Prime Minister John Major, French President Francois Mitterand and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.

President Clinton has agreed to accept Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s invitation to attend a May 9 ceremony in Moscow marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.