Ceremony commemorating end of WWII at place it began in Poland

The Polish government held a ceremony at the monument of Westerplatte in Gdansk, where the Second World War began in 1939, to mark the 70th anniversary of its end in Europe.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski hosted the ceremony Thursday midnight, attended by U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki Moon, European Council President Donald Tusk, and the Presidents of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Ukraine.

Representatives of other European and allied NATO countries including the President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain, Jesus Posada, also attended.

The event closed with a rendition of the European anthem, after a speech by Komorowski supporting the proEuropean aspirations of Ukraine and criticizing recent Russian actions, particularly the annexation of Crimea.

Russia has changed the borders of Europe “and that has not occurred since 1939”, said the Polish President.

“These practices and anachronistic attitudes are not consensual,” he added.

European representatives also lit candles before the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers, commemorating opposition to Poland’s postwar communist regime.

The Solidarity Movement, born amongst the shipyard workers of Gdansk, marks one of the first concrete steps towards the end of communism in eastern Europe.

The anniversary of the end of the war will be commemorated in other parts of the world over the weekend.

The commemorative military parade held every May 9 in Moscow will this year be overlooked by representatives of the major Western countries, in a show of disapproval over Moscow’s policy in the Ukraine crisis.