The term ''Kniefall von Warschau'', also referred to as ''Warschauer Kniefall'' (both German for "

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

genuflection Genuflection or genuflexion is the act of bending a knee to the ground, as distinguished from kneeling which more strictly involves both knees. From early times, it has been a gesture of deep respect for a superior. Today, the gesture is common ...

"), refers to West German Chancellor

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ger ...

kneeling and giving a moment of silence during a visit to a

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...

memorial in 1970.

Incident

The event took place on December 7, 1970, in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(which was then part of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

), during a visit to a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

to the German occupation-era

. After laying a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

, Brandt unexpectedly, and apparently spontaneously, knelt. He remained silently in that position for a short time (half a minute), surrounded by a large group of dignitaries and press photographers. Brandt had actively resisted the early Nazi regime, and had spent most of the time of Hitler's reign in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

. The occasion of Brandt's visit to Poland at the time was the signing of the Treaty of Warsaw between

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

and

, guaranteeing German acceptance of the new borders of Poland. The treaty was one of the Brandt-initiated policy steps (the '

Ostpolitik ''Neue Ostpolitik'' (German for "new eastern policy"), or ''Ostpolitik'' for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republ ...

') to ease tensions between West and East during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

Reactions

In Germany

On the same day, Brandt signed the Treaty of Warsaw, which acknowledged the

Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers a ...

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 The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. 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 ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' survey of the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the ''Kniefall'' was excessive, 41% said it was appropriate and 11% had no opinion. 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.

Internationally

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

had left between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

. In historical terms, Brandt gained much renown for this act, and it is thought to be one of the reasons he received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

in 1971. A monument to Willy Brandt was unveiled on 6 December 2000, in Willy Brandt Square in Warsaw (near the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes Monument) on the eve of the 30th anniversary of his famous gesture.

Brandt's memories

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"'' :(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.'' 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 in that moment facing the ribbon, he thought: Just laying the wreath is not enough."

Similar act

During a visit to the former

Seodaemun Prison Seodaemun Prison History Hall is a museum and former prison in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed beginning in 1907. The prison was opened on October 21, 1908, under the name Gyeongseong Gamok. During the early part of the Japa ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

in August 2015, former Japanese prime minister

Yukio Hatoyama is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 16 September 2009 to 8 June 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, Hat ...

knelt in front of a memorial stone as an expression of apology for

Japanese war crimes The Empire of Japan committed war crimes in many Asian-Pacific countries during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents have been described as an "Asian Holocaust". Som ...

References

External links

Photo of the ''Kniefall''
(photographer: Engelbert Reineke)

(photographer: Sven Simon) * ttp://p2.la-img.com/375/24940/9095814_1_l.jpg Photo of the Kniefall including wreath Photographer Hanns Hubmann {{History of the People's Republic of Poland History of Warsaw Holocaust commemoration Germany–Poland relations 1970 in Poland 1970 in Germany 1970 in international relations Kneeling Willy Brandt