VOA标准英语2009年-Poland Observes 70th Anniversary of World

European and American leaders have gathered to observe the 70th anniversary of the German military invasion of Poland, which is generally regarded as the start of World War II. Tuesday's ceremonies come amid controversy¹ between Poland and Russia over the war, in which some 50 million people died.
　
A general view of ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the beginning of WW II at the Monument of Westerplatte Defenders², in Gdansk, northern Poland, 01 Sep 2009

At a somber³ ceremony Polish leaders met at dawn on Gdansk's Westerplatte peninsula, where 70 years ago German forces began to attack Poland.

An honorary guard looked on as officials placed wreaths at the foot of the monument to the defenders of Westerplatte at 4:45 am local time, the exact time that the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein began shelling this tiny Polish military outpost.

And, as Red and white Polish flags fluttered, giant lights beamed video footage of the German invasion at a wall of the monument.

Backed by tanks and other heavy equipment, soldiers marched through Polish towns terrifying local citizens. The invasion is generally regarded as the beginning of World War II, which eventually involved almost all nations and killed tens of millions of people.

Tuesday's ceremony came amid a war of words between Russia and Poland over the invasion. Poland is furious that Russian military and intelligence officials appear to lay significant blame on Poland for the outbreak of the Second World War.
　
President Lech Kaczynski attends ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the beginning of WW II at the Monument of Westerplatte Defenders, in Gdansk, 1 Sept 2009

The Russian Intelligence Service is reportedly planning to publish documents showing what it calls Poland's aggressive intentions towards the Soviet⁴ Union ahead of World War II, and says at least one Polish minister was a German agent.

This follows a documentary on Russian state-run television alleging⁵ that Poland had made agreements with Nazi⁶ Germany, which planned an invasion of the Soviet Union.

Poland and other former Soviet satellite states say however that the invasion came after Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin reached an agreement with Germany that included dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence.

Just over two weeks after the start of the German invasion in the west, Soviet troops entered Poland in the east and later occupied the Baltic states as well as parts of Finland and Romania.

Poles still view the Red Army invasion as an act of aggression⁷, especially the Katyn Forest massacre⁸, in which some 22,000 Polish soldiers, police and intellectuals were murdered by Soviet forces in 1940.

During Tuesday's commemoration, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk⁹ indirectly¹⁰ referred to the controversy with Russia and the German invasion.
　
Germany's Chancellor¹¹ Angela Merkel holds a candle at the Cemetery¹² of Defenders of Westerplatte in Gdansk, 01 Sep 2009

He says people meet here to "remember who started the war, who the culprit was, who the executioner was in the war, and who the victim was of this aggression."

While Moscow has acknowledged wrongdoing under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, it also claims that some 27 million Soviet citizens died in the war against Nazi Germany.

But Adam Burakowski, a political analyst¹³ at the Polish Academy of Sciences, has told the Polish Radio External Service that the victim count also included Poles and other non-Russians who were made Soviet citizens after the war.

"Considering the recent Russian attempts to re-write history, for example by suggesting Polish complicity in German aggression, we could expect Russians to publish their own estimates of Soviet war victims shortly," he said. "Probably, they could count citizens of pre-war Poland [eastern Poland, annexed¹⁴ to the USSR by the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact¹⁵] as Soviet citizens, and this way enlarge the total amount of their losses. In my opinion, it could be an abuse."

In an apparent effort to defuse tensions on the eve of the anniversary, Vladimir Putin has written an article which appears in the Monday edition of Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborca. In it he expressly condemns¹⁶ the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the treaty of non-aggression between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Mr. Putin was to meet his Polish counterpart later Tuesday.

The tensions with former Soviet satellite states has saddened Soviet veterans, including Yakov Vinnichenko, who told Russia Today television he was involved in liberating¹⁷ concentration camps.

"The attitude in these states is certainly different than it use to be, and not for the better," saod Vinnichenko.

There were calls for reconciliation¹⁸ during ceremonies that were attended by former enemies, including German, Polish and American leaders.

United States President Barack Obama, who was not at Tuesday's ceremonies, sent a message saying that today there is "a different era in which the United States and Poland are close allies."

He also noted¹⁹ that as a member of the Western NATO military alliance, Poland is now protected by a creed²⁰ that says an attack on one is an attack on all.

Yet for elderly people, the wounds of war, still remain.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

6 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

7 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

8 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

9 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

10 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

11 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

12 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

14 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

15 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

16 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

18 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

19 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

20 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。