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President Obama, ends European tour in Poland

US President Barack Obama has reaffirmed relations between the US and Poland, as his six-day tour of Europe drew to a close.

He praised Poland’s economic growth and its support of pro-democracy movements in North Africa and the Middle East.

Mr Obama also said the shelving of his predecessor’s plan to build a missile defence shield in Poland did not put the country or region at risk.

Poland PM Donald Tusk said 0ne had been reassured by Mr Obama’s words.

In a brief press conference with Mr Tusk, Mr Obama said Poland was “one of our strongest and closest allies and a leader in Europe” and “a living example of what is possible when countries take reform seriously”.

He praised efforts by members of Poland’s Soviet-era pro-democracy Solidarity movement to offer support to Egypt’s post-revolution government.

The BBC’s Stephen Evans in Warsaw says Polish leaders had been hoping Mr Obama would rectify what many saw as a slight, when he cancelled President George W Bush’s missile shield plan as part of efforts to “reset” US relations with Russia.

Many in Poland were disappointed when the US decided not to go ahead with the shield on Polish soil, says our correspondent, reading is as deference to Russia and as a sign of a lack of commitment to Poland.

Mr Obama repeated his insistence that the strategy was about reaffirming the Nato principles of mutual defence, saying it allowed their two countries to deal with shared threats.

“Nato is the strongest alliance in history primarily because it has a very simple principle – that we defend each other,” he said.

“What we want to do is create an environment in this region in which peace and security are a given – that’s not just good for this region, it’s good for United States of America. We will always be there for Poland.”

Mr Tusk said Mr Obama’s words “give us the sense that together we work for the purpose of Polish security” and that the US strategy was “the best way to guarantee security for Poland”.

The two countries also announced plans to hold high-level bilateral business meetings to promote ways of boosting economic growth.

Mr Obama said they had discussed co-operation on “a range of clean energy initiatives” including natural gas projects and nuclear power.

Poland has reserves of shale which hold natural gas.

Our correspondent says Germany and Russia do not want those reserves opened up, Germany for environmental reasons and Russia perhaps because it currently exports much gas to the whole region.

He says the hope in Warsaw was that Mr Obama would support the opening of the shale reserves, ideally with the help of American energy companies.

The US had already announced one new initiative on security – to set up a US air detachment in Poland to train Polish personnel.

However, Mr Obama has not granted Poland’s desire for a visa waiver for its citizens travelling to the US.

UK Government to assist with Auschwitz funding.

KRAKOW TOURS – The UK government is set to contribute £2.1m towards the preservation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, it has been announced.

The joint contribution will mainly be provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Foreign Office.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation will be funded over the next three years.

More than a million people were murdered by the Nazis at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.

The concentration camp was the largest site for the mass murder of Jews.

In recent years a number of countries have contributed to the fund to maintain the main concentration camp, Auschwitz, and its nearby satellite camp of Birkenau.

Auschwitz and Birkenau were operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II, and opened as a museum in 1947.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the camp, which stands as an enduring symbol of the Holocaust, was an importance place of remembrance which served to educate people about the horrors of the Holocaust.

Speaking at the Jewish Museum in London, he said: “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Auschwitz-Birkenau stands as a perpetual reminder of the pain and destructive force of hate.

“We must ensure that the lessons from the Holocaust are taught today and to future generations.”

And Foreign Secretary William Hague said Auschwitz-Birkenau underlined “the horrific consequences of intolerance”.

Mr Hague said he was “proud that the UK is able to play a part in commemorating the millions of victims who died there” and was helping to ensure the camp’s preservation to educate future generations on “the evils of that period in history”.

And Lord Greville Janner of Braunstone, who chairs the Holocaust Educational Trust, said the financial support sends a clear message that the camp should be maintained for future generations.

He said: “Through our Lessons from Auschwitz Project, the Holocaust Educational Trust gives over 3,000 British students each year the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

“This announcement will ensure that when young people visit Auschwitz, they will see for themselves what can happen when racism and prejudice is allowed to go unchecked.”

Prince William, Polish?

Historian Jerzy Łapo from the Museum of Folk Culture in Węgorzewo in Masuria, northern Poland, claims that Prince William, who was made the Duke of Cambridge after his wedding a few days ago, has roots in a family which lived in Masuria for centuries.

Having studied the family tree of the Lehndorff family, who thought of themselves as Prussian and who are related to the British royal family, historian Dr. Łapo has established that Maria Eleonora von Lehndorff, born 1723 in Steinort (Sztynort), near Węgorzewo, was among the ancestors of Prince William.

Her grandson, the King of Denmark Christian IX, was the Prince William’s great, great grandfather.

The collection at the museum in Węgorzewo includes a 17th-century tombstone with the likeness of Meinhard von Lehndorff, a local dignitary who served in the army of the Polish King Sigismund the Third Vasa. He was Prince William’s grandfather with the preceding word ‘great’ repeated as many as nine times.

According to Dr. Łapo, Meinhard von Lehndorff’s face had a resemblance to the new Duke of Cambridge.

The Sztynort Palace, which was the family’s property until the end of World War Two, is now owned by the Polish-German Foundation for the Preservation of Historical Sites. There are plans to bring the palace to its former splendour.

The management of the Museum of Folk Culture in Węgorzewo hopes to bring the history of the Lehndorff family to the attention of the newly-weds and boost tourism to the region.