Warschauer Kniefall
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Warschauer Kniefall is a German term meaning "The Warsaw Genuflection (kneeling)", which refers to the incident on December 7, 1970, in which social democratic Chancellor of Germany Willy Brandt, while visiting a monument to the Nazi-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in the then communist Peoples Republic of Poland, very surprisingly, and to all appearances spontaneously, knelt. The occasion was the signing of the Treaty of Warsaw between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. It should be noted in this context that Brandt himself had actively resisted the Nazi regime.
In Germany, Brandt's action was very controversial and widely unpopular, especially among conservatives and liberals but also many social democrats, and Brandt was heavily criticized by the press for being unpatriotic. According to a Der Spiegel survey of the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the "Kniefall" was exaggerated, 41% said it was appropriate and 11% had no opinion.
It was also one of many arguments the opposition used to put forth a Constructive Vote of No Confidence in April 1972 against Brandt, which he survived by only two votes. It was revealed later that at least one (possibly two) members of the conservative opposition had been paid off by the Stasi to vote in favor of Brandt.
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 in 1971.
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 had left between Germany and Eastern Europe.
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[edit] Literature
- Thomas Brechenmacher and Michael Wolffsohn: Denkmalsturz? Brandts Kniefall., Muinch 2005 (German)
