More reaction to Poland's comment on Germany's Nazi past.

An excerpt from Der Spiegel:

There was shocked reaction to the Poles dredging up Germany's Nazi past at such a delicate stage in EU relations. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was an unfortunate statement and a distraction. "It's an absurd idea to base today's decisions on a very tragic history," he said. Estonia's Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said Europe could not continue "living in the past."

Hans-Gert Pöttering, current president of the European Parliament, and a German conservative, said he found Kaczynski's words "very painful." "Throughout Europe since 1989 there has been a great deal of goodwill shown, especially to Poland," he said. "That is why as a German, and as a European, it now hurts me very deeply to hear such comments." Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker called on the Kaczynskis to "jump into the present." In an interview with Financial Times Deutschland on Thursday he said: "You will not be happy in the long-run if you are always looking in the rearview mirror."

The Czech Republic is slightly more sympathetic to the Polish position. "Poland right now is in dispute with Russia as well as Germany. That's nothing new if you know history," Czech Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Vondra said this week.

Yes, we ought to look forward and not dwell too much in the past. On the other hand, it seems the critics of the Kaczynski brothers have forgotten that Poland was especially targeted to be obliterated of everything Polish under German occupation.

Poland lost 15-20% of her population during the war, the most of any country, and they came from all walks of life.

[Poland] [Nazi Germany] [Kaczynski] [EU summit] [EU constitution]