U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered speeches to honour and commemorate the victims of World War Two on Sunday (September 1) in Warsaw.
Pence, standing in for President Donald Trump who abruptly cancelled his trip due to a hurricane, paid tribute to all those who had lost their lives in pursuit of a ''victory for freedom".
"So thank you for the honour of representing our president (Donald Trump) and the American people on this historic occasion as we mark the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two. Today we remember those that were lost," said Pence.
"In Poland in their long twilight struggle and all of those who sacrificed from my nation and nations represented here to win a victory for freedom," he added.
"As President Trump said here in Warsaw two years ago, America never gave up on the freedom and independence of the Polish people, and we never will," Pence underscored.
U.S. Vice President also reassured that "America and Poland will continue to stand with all of our allies for our common defence. And America and Poland will also continue to call on our allies to live up to the promises that we've made to one another, for the American people and the Polish people know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign and independent nations is the best defence of our freedoms now and always".
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was attending along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, asked for ''forgiveness'' on behalf of Germany and said his nation would never forget the ''wounds'' that had been inflicted on the Polish people.
"As a German guest, I stand barefoot before you on this square. I look gratefully to the Polish people's fight for freedom, I bow my head in grief before the victim's pain. I ask for forgiveness for Germany's historical guilt and I recognise our enduring responsibility," Steinmeier said.
Few places saw death and destruction on the scale of Poland. It lost about a fifth of its population, including the vast majority of its 3 million Jewish citizens.
After the war, its shattered capital of Warsaw had to rise again from ruins and Poland remained under Soviet domination until 1989.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters