Writer replies about SS stint

German novelist Gunter Grass said in a letter to the mayor of his hometown of Gdansk that only in his old age has he found the “right formula” to talk about having served in the Waffen SS during World War II.

Mayor Pawel Adamowicz had the letter read out loud Tuesday by actor Jan Kiszkis at a news conference in Gdansk.

Earlier this month, Grass, 78, made the surprising confession that he served in the Waffen SS, the combat arm of the Nazis’ fanatical organization. His new memoir, “Peeling the Onion,” was then released and appeared last week in German bookstores and quickly became a bestseller.

Adamowicz had written to Grass asking for an explanation amid calls from some politicians to strip the author of his honorary citizenship in Gdansk.

“This silence may be judged as a mistake -- that’s exactly what’s happening,” Grass wrote. “It may also be condemned. I must also come to terms with the fact that the honorary citizenship of Gdansk is questioned by many residents.”

But Grass did not say he was giving up his honorary citizenship, as he has been urged to do by Solidarity founder and Nobel Peace laureate Lech Walesa.

Walesa had threatened to give up his own honorary citizenship in Gdansk if Grass didn’t give an explanation to the city. But he said he was satisfied by the letter and would not do so now. “I think he has explained himself well enough,” he said.