German president asks Poland for forgiveness at WW2 ceremony

Frank-Walter Steinmeier makes speech at Warsaw event to mark 80 years since start of war

The German president vowed his country would never forget the atrocities of the Nazi period on Sunday as he asked forgiveness from Poland during a series of commemorative events to mark the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the second world war.

"In no other square in Europe do I find it more difficult to speak, and to address you in my native language of German ... I ask for forgiveness for Germany's historical guilt and I recognise our enduring responsibility," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at a ceremony in PiAsudski Square in Warsaw.