Poland – Germany: from reconciliation to cooperation

The dramatic events of the Second World War for a long time froze the relations between the Churches of Poland and Germany. When on 18 November 1965 the Polish bishops attending the Second Vatican Council issued letters to Episcopates of 56 countries, extending invitations for the celebrations of the Millennium of Poland’s Baptism, the letter to the Episcopate of Germany, signed by 36 Polish bishops and containing a phrase "We forgive and ask forgiveness," came as a shock for many.

The then Polish government was outraged. The bishops were censured for their alleged lack of national and civic loyalty, inadmissible interference with the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of Poland, as well as denounced for the questioning of the border along the rivers of Oder and Nysa and the betrayal of the interest of the communist country. Criticism of the communist party accompanied the observances of the Millennium of Poland’s Baptism throughout the next year. Foreign bishops, including German ones, were refused entry visas to Poland. On 4 March 1966 the German bishops issued a statement related to the millennial celebrations in Poland. They made a reference to the exchange of letters and assured that "they accept the extended hands with brotherly respect.‿

In mid-July 1966 a congress of German Catholics, the 81st Katholikentag, passed a declaration in which it "solemnly assures that the German Catholics, recognising the inalienable rights of their own nation, will take every effort to make the German people respect the rights of the national existence of the Polish nation." German Catholic circles once again referred to the letter of Polish bishops in March 1968. Sympathisers of the ecclesial peace movement "Pax Christi" found the response of the German Episcopate from two years before inadequate. In their judgement, the "lethargy of German public opinion," including first of all Catholics, "was the greatest obstacle in the work towards peace." A commission set up by the organisation, working in Bensberg, came up with "The Memorandum of German Catholics on German-Polish Issues." The document called for both spiritual and political rapprochement between the two nations, stressing at the same time that historians should take every endeavour to come up with a joint representation of the course of history by means of independent research." The authors of the Memorandum appreciated what Cardinal Bolesław Kominek of Wrocław termed "an elementary security need." They believed that Poles have the right to a homeland in the areas over the Oder and the Nysa, adding that the right to the native lands of Germans cannot be hereditary. They opted for a full legal and pastoral normalisation of the borderlines of dioceses in the areas over the Oder and the Nysa, as well as called for recompense for Polish victims of nationalist socialism; these demands met with both vociferous protests and unanimous approval. The signatories of the memorandum included Fr. Joseph Ratzinger and Fr. Karl Rahner.

The letter of Polish bishops to their "German brothers in the Episcopate" and the Eastern Memorandum" of the Evangelical Church in Germany, issued only two weeks previously, related to the "catastrophe of the German nation and the plight of the displaced persons, but focusing on the situation of neighbourly nations" opened up new possibilities of rapprochement between the nations. In spite of the fact that the letter was censured on political grounds in Germany and was initially guardedly received by the German hierarchs, it remained a significant document paving the way for the reconciliation and cooperation between the Churches of both countries. Five years subsequently an agreement was signed between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany, which recognised the state borders along the Oder and the Nysa rivers.

The first official visit of the Polish Episcopate to Germany, with Cardinals Stefan Wyszyński and Karol Wojtyła, took place in the period 20-25 September 1978. A return visit of the German bishops took place between 11-15 September 1980. Representatives of the German Episcopate saw Jasna Góra, Trzebnica, and the former Auschwitz concentration camp.

This sparked off a series of joint ecclesial initiatives. Delegates of the Episcopates of both countries meet for yearly sessions of working groups, discussing current issues, such as European integration, bioethics, Polish-speaking ecclesial ministry in Germany, or the Church fund for victims of forced labour during World War II. They meet on a regular basis in Gniezno, at the tomb of St. Adalbert, who preached the Gospel in the area of today’s Poland and Germany. Co-chairmen of the contact group are: the Metropolitan of Gniezno Archbishop Henryk Muszyński on the Polish side, and Bishop of Limburg, Franz Kamphaus, on the German side. Permanent members of the contact group are also: the Metropolitan of Upper Silesia Archbishop Damian Zimoń, auxiliary Bishop of Opole Jan Kopiec, and Archbishop of Warmia Edmund Piszcz, while on the German side – bishops Rudolf Müller of Görlitz and Reinhardt Marx of Trier.

Contacts of German Catholics and organisations with the Polish side also have a long history. One of the first initiators of the help provided to the Catholic Church and the faithful in Poland was Reinhold Lehmann (1939-98), a German essayist, editor-in-chief of the KNA-Bild Catholic agency, for a long time secretary general of the "Pax Christi" peace organisation and chairman of the Maximilian-Kolbe-Werk. A brother of the Chairman of the Conference of German Bishops, he was a man who contributed greatly to the improvement of German-Polish relations in Catholic circles.

In 1993, on the initiative of the Conference of German Bishops an action of solidarity of German Catholics with nations of Central and Eastern Europe known as "Renovabis" was set up. It finances the renewal of ecclesial life, social activity, such as Caritas, supports dialogue and development of partnership between parishes and ecclesial groups of both parts of Europe. The "Hallo, Nachbar!" (Hello, neighbour!) project, an initiative of the "Renovabis," consists in the exchange of student priests, parish groups, and members of ecclesial organisations. First German priests arrive in Poland; they learn the Polish language and for a few weeks work in Polish parishes.

In 1995 bishops of Poland and Germany signed a joint statement to mark the 30th anniversary of the letter of Polish bishops. Contacts of both Episcopates become regular. German pilgrimages have their destinations in Gniezno, at the tomb of St. Adalbert and in Trzebnica, at St. Hedwig, who had an important impact on the reconciliation between the Polish and the German nations. A few years ago the jubilee observances of the 8th centennial of the establishment of the Congregation of Cistercian Sisters in Trzebnica were presided over by Ludwig Schick, Archbishop of Bamberg, the hometown of St. Otto (ca. 1063-1139). St. Otto was a missionary bishop known as "the Apostle of Pomerania," who in the period 1124-1125 on the initiative of King Boleslaus III Krzywousty, as the bishop of Bamberg, set out on a mission of Christianising Western Pomerania. Furthermore, ever more numerous groups of German pilgrims, for instance Bundeswehr soldiers, take part in foot pilgrimages to Jasna Góra. The year 2003 saw the reopening of the pilgrimage trail from Magdeburg to Gniezno, followed by both Protestants and Catholics. Pilgrims embark on the 550-kilometre route similar to that of Emperor Otto III, who in the year 1000 arrived at the tomb of St. Adalbert.

When on 1 May 2004 Poland became a Member State of the European Union, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, chairman of the Conference of German Bishops, thanked Poles at a "major moment in European history" for their contribution to the fight for the freedom in Europe. He stressed that this process would not have taken place but for the personal involvement of Pope John Paul II as well as without the "brave witness of so many Polish bishops and faithful.‿

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the famous address: "We forgive and ask forgiveness," in 2005 the Episcopates of Poland and Germany proclaimed a joint pastoral letter. The celebrations took place in Wrocław and Fulda, where a monument of the Metropolitan of Wrocław, Cardinal Bolesław Kominek, one of the signatories of the letter of Polish bishops from 1965, was unveiled. The unveiling of the monument was coupled with an autumn plenary session of the Conference of German Bishops with the participation of the delegation of the Polish Episcopate. Later on Cardinal Lehmann expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the meetings in Fulda and Wrocław concerned such abrasive issues as the Centre against Displaced Persons or questions of compensation damages put forward by the Prussian Trust with respect to Poland. He stated that these were "problems with respect to which we need to adopt a joint stand." In addition, he declared that the construction of the Centre against Displaced Persons may be planned only in cooperation with Poland.

After 2004 ecclesial Polish-German contacts have acquired a new quality, since Poland has been a full-fledged Member State of the European Union. "Thus, as Churches we may better and more efficiently impact the entire European community," maintains Cardinal Lehmann.

Teresa Sotowska//ter