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WORLD : Kohl Accepts Polish Border Pact

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<i> From Times Wire Services</i>

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said for the first time today that he accepted the Oder-Neisse line marking Poland’s postwar western border, European Community sources said.

It was the first time that Kohl had publicly committed himself on the sensitive issue despite strong pressure to do so during his visit to Poland in November.

The sources said he made the commitment to other EC leaders during a luncheon at their summit meeting in Strasbourg.

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West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher has repeatedly said Bonn stood by the line defining the border between Poland and East Germany, but Kohl had until now held back, apparently fearing how West German voters might react.

Hundreds of thousands of Germans were deported after World War II from the border province of Silesia after it became Polish when the frontier was redrawn. The remaining refugees and their descendants form a strong lobby in West Germany.

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