German Mud May Stick
Poland’s presidential frontrunner Donald Tusk has said it was a moment of a big personal test for him to learn that his grandfather served in the Nazi German Wehrmacht army during World War II. Shocked Tusk said he would spare no effort to investigate this matter.
The information was first revealed by the election staff of Tusk’s main rival, Lech Kaczynski. It was strongly denied, prompting an apology from Kaczynski and the dismissal of his campaign chief.
But then, Polish Television and the private TVN station said they had found documents in German archives that Tusk’s grandfather had served briefly in the Wehrmacht. He was probably forced to enlist and is believed to have escaped to join the Polish army in the West in 1944. Forced enlisting in regions which the Germans incorporated into their Third Reich during the war was frequent.