Lithuanian President will commemorate end of World War II in Poland

  • 2015-05-07
  • from wire reports and TBT staff, VILNIUS

On Thursday, 7 May, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite will travel to Gdansk. The president and other European leaders will attend events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the presidential press service said.

The president will pay a visit to Westerplatte where the first battle in World War II Europe took place in 1939. She will lay flowers at the Westerplatte Monument in memory of the coast defenders.

At the European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk, Grybauskaite together with other European heads of state and famous historians will participate in discussions on the legacy of World War II and its lessons for Europe today.

Taking part in the two-part discussion, as planned, will be European Council President Donald Tusk, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Slovenian President Borut Pahor, Hungarian President Jinos Ider, Czech President Milos Zeman, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, as well as eminent historians Timothy Snyder, Yuri Afanasyev, Norman Davies, Georges-Henri Soutou, and Stefan Troebst.

Following the discussions, the President will pay tribute to the Polish shipyard workers who were killed during anti-communist protests in 1970.

On her return, Grybauskaite will also mark the end of World War II in Lithuania. On 8th May, she will lay flowers at the Paneriai Memorial and will attend a concert dedicated to the victims of war at Vilnius Congress Hall.