On November 18, 2015 falls the 50th anniversary of issuing the 'Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops', in which there was the famous phrase: 'We forgive and we beg your forgiveness.'
The main anniversary celebration will begin at noon at the City Hall with opening of the exhibition 'Pojednanie/Versöhnung in progress. The Catholic Church and the Polish-German relations after 1945.' 'The exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the Letter will be opened in Wroclaw and Berlin, points out Marek Mutor, director of the Pamięć i Przyszłość (Memory and Future) Centre. 'There are few such Polish-German initiatives, which is why the preparation of this exhibition was for us a practical lesson of dialogue, he added. The exhibition shows what were the milestones in postwar relations between the nations, but also emphasises that it is still an ongoing process. 'The exhibition emphasises that the Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops was the most important document of this type in history; it was a stone that started the avalanche, adds Dr. Robert Żurek, author of the exhibition.
The exhibition will be available until 17 January 2016 in Wroclaw's Town Hall and in Berlin. Then, a mobile version will be presented in other cities. Its organizers are the Memory and Future Centre and the Maximilian-Kolbe-Stiftung.
The jubilee celebrations of the 50th anniversary of issuing the 'Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops'
Events
from 18 November 2015 to 18 November 2015 
The Old Town Hall, City Museum of Wroclaw
On 18 November 1965, Polish bishops present at the Second Vatican Council sent a letter known as the Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops. In this document, the Polish hierarchs describe the difficult history of Polish-German relations, invite the German episcopate to participate in the celebration of the Millennium of Christianity in Poland in 1966 and call for reconciliation: 'In a most Christian, but also very human spirit we extend to you, sitting here on the benches of the now closing Council, our hands, granting our forgiveness and begging it of you.' Issuing of the Letter came up against stiff opposition of the government and repressions against the Church in Poland. However, these words proved to be crucial for the post-war Polish-German relations, and their author, Cardinal Metropolitan of Wroclaw Bolesław Kominek, can be counted among the Fathers of Europe.
Cardinal Bolesław Kominek came to Wroclaw in October 1956. He received the appointment of a bishop and the office of Wroclaw administrator five years earlier, however could not then come to Lower Silesia. He was consecrated a bishop secretly, on October 10, 1954 in Przemyśl. It was not until June 28, 1972 that he became a proper archbishop of Wroclaw, the first since the death of Adolf Bertram in 1945. He died on 10 March 1974 in Wroclaw and was buried in the crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Wroclaw.
