On the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, German President Frank Walter Steinmeier asked for forgiveness for the crimes committed by Germans during

World War II. The uprising took place on April 19, 1943, when a group of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto rose against the Nazi occupants in retaliation for the murder of millions of European Jews during the war.

Steinmeier spoke alongside the presidents of Poland and Israel in Warsaw, where he expressed deep shame for the crimes committed by Germans and asked for forgiveness. The commemoration was attended by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, as well as Jewish and Christian clerics who recited prayers.

Steinmeier's speech followed a resolution adopted by the Polish government on the need to "regulate" Polish-German relations regarding war reparations. Despite tensions between the two governments, Steinmeier's invitation to the commemoration in Warsaw was seen as a positive step towards friendly relations. Photo by President.gov.ua, Wikimedia commons.