Poland Commemorates 1944 Partisan Uprising

On August 1, 1944, Polish partisans began a battle to retake Warsaw from its Nazi occupiers. Sixty years to the day, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder leads a list of dignitaries commemorating the uprising. Three days of commemorations come to a climax on Sunday when veterans laid wreaths and sang patriotic songs as world leaders and survivors joined together in Warsaw to mark the 60th anniversary of the uprising by Polish partisans against Nazi occupiers towards the end of World War II. Among the dignitaries to attend will be Gerhard Schröder who will become the first German chancellor to attend the annual ceremonies. Prime Minister Marek Belka told Germany's Die Welt newspaper that Schröder's visit was of "huge importance" to Poland and was a step towards repairing the "bad atmosphere" between their two countries. Belka used the anniversary to urge his German counterpart to dispel the lingering animosity and to use his appearance to send a powerful message to those Germans seeking reparation for being expelled from Poland.