Germany rejects expulsion memorial

By Ray Furlong
BBC correspondent in Berlin

The German and Polish heads of government, Gerhard Schroeder and Leszek Miller, have rejected the idea of building a memorial to millions of ethnic Germans expelled from eastern Europe after the World War II.

The two leaders were speaking after talks in the western German town of Gelsenkirchen.

The proposed memorial has provoked anger in Poland, with accusations that it is an attempt to rewrite history.

This was a clear message from two leaders who seem uncomfortable about this issue overshadowing relations between their countries.

The German chancellor said the idea of a memorial to the 12 million Germans expelled from across Eastern Europe after the war was not desirable because, he said, there was a danger of it being one-sided.

The Polish prime minister agreed.

Trojan horse

The idea came from an organisation of expelled people, but it has aroused anger in Poland, with politicians, intellectuals and other prominent persons condemning it.

Several million Germans were deported from territories ceded to Poland after the war.

But many Poles feel such a centre would rewrite history, distorting the distinction between aggressors and victims.

Last week, a Polish news magazine sparked anger in Germany, using a computer montage of the head of the organisation in a Nazi uniform sitting on Mr Schroeder, suggesting that he was a Trojan horse for their cause.

German-Polish relations have been relatively good in recent years.

But this controversy comes amid disagreements also on other issues. The two countries fell out over Iraq and at these latest talks were again unable to agree on the question of the draft constitution for the European Union.