Posted on 08/31/2006 11:04:45 AM PDT by lizol
Gdansk councillors will not strip Grass of city honors
31.08.2006
The Gdansk city council has decided not to strip German writer Guenter Grass of his honorary Gdansk citizenship after hearing his letter explaining his membership in the notorious Waffen SS at the end of World War II. But local councilors of the ruling Law and Justice, who were for such a move, want to invite the writer to attend the nearest city council meeting. They argue Grass should personally explain to the people of Gdansk why he had hidden the truth for such a long time. They prepared an appeal to this effect but it did not win support of the majority of councilors. A deputy of the Law and Justice Jacek Kurski, who attended the meeting, said an apology from Guenter Grass would close the dispute.
Grass, who was born in the Free City of Danzig, now Gdansk, received honorary Gdansk citizenship in 1993 in recognition of his contributions to Polish-German reconciliation.
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