German Nobel Laureate Gunther Grass had a bittersweet homecoming as he returned to Poland for his 80th birthday celebration.

When Grass was born in 1927, Gdansk, Poland, was known as the Free City of Danzig after it was carved out of the defeated German Empire following World War I.

The city, which was awarded to Poland after World War II, planned a three-day event to honor Grass this week.

However, Polish conservatives are still angry with him after his late-life revelation that he had been a member of the Nazi Waffen SS during World War II, Deutsche Welle reported Friday.

The disclosure last year prompted some politicians to call for the famed author to be stripped of his honorary citizenship in Gdansk.

Grass, the author of "Skinning the Onion" and "The Tin Drum," explained in a letter to the city's mayor that he only recently found the "right formula" to talk about serving in the SS.

The mayor accepted Grass' explanation and the author kept his honorary citizenship.

However, Grass's criticism of the Polish government in recent months has renewed the call amongst conservatives for rescinding it.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International




Publication date: 06 October 2007   

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