In which year did West German Chancellor Willy Brandt kneel before a monument to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising?

As a gesture of humility and penance, on December 7, 1970, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, spontaneously knelt during a visit to a monument to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. At the time, Warsaw, Poland was part of the Eastern Communist Bloc. He remained kneeling for approximately 30 seconds, surrounded by a large group of dignitaries and press photographers. He surprised all present when he knelt, after first laying down a wreath.

Brandt had actively resisted the early Nazi regime and had spent most of the time during Hilter's reign in exile. His visit occurred on the occasion of the signing of the 'Treaty of Warsaw' between West Germany and the People's Republic of Poland. The significance of this treaty- Germany accepted the new borders of Poland. The treaty was one of Brandt's initial steps to ease tensions between the West and East during the Cold War.

Brandt was subsequently interviewed about his genuflection and about his motives. He later noted that, "Under the weight of recent history, I did what people do when words fail them. In this way I commemorated millions of murdered people."

His gesture is thought to be one of the reasons he received the 'Noble Peace Prize' in 1971. Willy Brandt was a leader of the Social Democratic Party of West Germany from 1964 to 1987 and served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974. Born in 1913, he died in 1992.