Significance
It was one of the first attempts at reconciliation after the tragedies of the Second World War, in which Germany invaded Poland; Poland and Germany lost millions of people, while millions more, both Poles and Germans, had to flee from their homes or were forcibly resettled. Pope Pius XII had nominated German bishops over Polish dioceses, which was seen as the Holy See's recognition of the German conquest, and generated popular feeling against the Vatican. A much larger part was the invitation and the attempt of the Catholic bishops to gain distance from the Communists who were ruling Poland.
Among prominent supporters of this letter was Archbishop Karol Wojtyła, who later became Pope John Paul II in 1978.
The letter was answered by bishops of both of the then-two Germanys together.
Read more about this topic: Letter Of Reconciliation Of The Polish Bishops To The German Bishops
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—Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (b. 1929)