page_title: Kniefall von Warschau
section_title: In Germany
hierarchical_section_title: Kniefall von Warschau / Reactions / In Germany
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Pomnik Willy'ego Brandta w Warszawie English: Monument to Willy Brandt in Warsaw
context_page_description: The term Kniefall von Warschau, also referred to as Warschauer Kniefall, refers to a gesture of humility and penance by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt towards the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
context_section_description: On the same day, Brandt signed the Treaty of Warsaw, which acknowledged the Oder–Neisse line as the final German border with Poland. Both actions attracted controversy within Germany, as did Ostpolitik in general, which was supported by only a narrow majority of the people and had opposition within Brandt's own party. Its voters had included a significant proportion of expellees from the formerly-German territories in Poland, most of whom left to support the conservative parties.
  According to a Der Spiegel survey of the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the Kniefall was excessive, 41% said it was appropriate and 11% had no opinion. Brandt's landslide win in the next elections, in late 1972, was also due to the growing view among voters that Brandt's Ostpolitik, symbolized by the Kniefall, and his reformist domestic policies were helping to boost Germany's international reputation and so should be supported. His party won its best federal election result ever.
caption: Willy Brandt Monument in Willy Brandt Square in Warsaw
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