German delegation visits World War II site

German delegation visits World War II site

Published Jun. 20, 2012 9:50 a.m. ET

A German football federation delegation laid a wreath at the memorial in Westerplatte, the peninsula outside Gdansk where the first battle of World War II took place as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

The Germans attacked the peninsula on Sept. 1, 1939, and Polish defenders resisted for a week.

Federation president Wolfgang Niersbach says Westerplatte represents a ''bad chapter of our history'' and a warning that ''something like that must never happen again.''

Niersbach says the German team was thankful for a warm welcome in Poland. Germany plays Greece on Friday in the quarterfinals in Gdansk.

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