Poland marks anniversary of historic 1989 meeting between Mazowiecki and Kohl

On 12 November 1989, Poland’s Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met in the village of Krzyżowa in south-western Poland, where they exchanged a gesture of peace that became a defining symbol of post-war reconciliation between Poland and Germany.

A historic meeting on 12 November 1989 between Poland's then Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki (left) and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Krzyżowa, southwestern Poland - a key moment in post-war Polish-German reconciliation.

Photo: PAP/Adam Hawałej

Thousands gathered for the event, held just days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, during a Mass that came to be known as the “Mass of Reconciliation.”

The gathering, organised at short notice by members of the “New Krzyżowa” civic initiative, took place on the grounds of the former estate of Helmuth James von Moltke, a German resistance figure executed by the Nazis.

According to the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe, most German participants were unable to attend due to visa restrictions.

One of the few present was historian Jochen Köhler, who captured the ceremony in a series of rare photographs.

The Foundation said it is now sharing these photos publicly for the first time, after Köhler’s family donated his research library and archives earlier this year.

✨ Dziś mija 36 lat od historycznej Mszy Pojednania w Krzyżowej! ✨ 12 listopada 1989 roku tysiące ludzi przyjechało do...

Opublikowany przez Fundacja Krzyżowa dla Porozumienia Europejskiego / Stiftung Kreisau Środa, 12 listopada 2025

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Source: Facebook.com/Fundacja Krzyzowa