On 30 March, the ministers met with students from Poland and Germany, their teachers, and volunteers at the International Youth Meeting Centre. Students from the Bolko I the Strict Primary School no. 5 in Strzelin and Martin-Luther-Gymnasium in Frankenberg, Saxony, have been jointly working on a project called “Power of Dialogue”, run by the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe.

When addressing the youth, Minister Radosław Sikorski talked about the challenges of the modern world, including the growing militarisation of international relations as well as the threats related to disinformation to which young people are highly exposed.

The chief diplomats of Poland and Germany also met with the Foundation’s Board members to discuss its day-to-day activity and role in fostering trust and dialogue in Europe.

I am satisfied to see the Foundation’s sustained efforts leading to a greater understanding in Europe as well as its invaluable contribution to building trust between nations. Your work inspires further Polish–German cooperation for the sake of the Europe we share

- said Foreign Minister Sikorski, thanking the Foundation’s team for their continued efforts.

At a time when relations between Warsaw and Berlin face new animosity, this visit aims to send a clear message about the friendship and ties between our countries

- said Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

During their visit, the ministers also saw an open-air exhibition entitled “Courage and Reconciliation”, commemorating the Reconciliation Mass, celebrated at the former von Moltke family estate on 12 November 1989. The gesture of peace between Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Poland’s first non-communist prime minister after the war, and Helmut Kohl, the chancellor of pre-reunification Germany, went down in history as a metaphorical closure of the most tragic chapter of Polish–German relations.

After leaving Krzyżowa, the ministers visited the Church of Peace in Świdnica. Founded in 1657, it became a symbol of reconciliation, religious toleration, and peace following the Thirty Years’ War. The church is the largest timber-framed Baroque building in Europe and one of three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lower Silesia.

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The Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe was established following a 1990 exchange of notes between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany and the founding of the International Youth Meeting Centre. Its activity is focused on fostering Polish–German dialogue and mutual understanding in Europe. Partnering with the Polish and German foreign ministries, it carries out various projects, including a seminar series “Remembrance, Understanding, Future,” addressed to young people from the Western Balkans.