Grandpa-gate update

Tusk defends himself against charges

Associated Press

The front-runner in Poland's presidential race sought on Saturday to defend himself against charges that he lied about his grandfather's service in Nazi Germany's army, arguing that raising allegations about relative's past was a dirty political trick.

Pro-business lawmaker Donald Tusk told supporters at a rally in southern Poland that it was "despicable" that the months his grandfather spent in a reserve unit in the German army should become a campaign issue.

"Poland does not need rulers who would divide Poles into the good and the bad depending on the ... ideology or the past of their grandfathers," he said.

Earlier this week, Tusk dismissed a claim by an aide of his election rival, conservative Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski, that Tusk's grandfather might have volunteered for the German army.

Archive documents that have surfaced since the revelations do not clarify whether Tusk's grandfather volunteered or was drafted - as were tens of thousands of men from the Pomerania region where he grew up. However, one document said he sought in November to enlist with exiled Polish forces in Britain after apparently escaping.

The revelations that Tusk's grandfather served in the German army could still evoke bitter feelings in a country that suffered greatly during World War II. The Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 and subjected the nation to a brutal occupation in which more than 6 million Poles died.

Tusk's campaign managers have suggested the revelation - coming in the last weeks of the campaign - was meant to smear the front-runner ahead of the tight vote. Tusk, who initially dismissed the claim, later said he was unaware of his grandfather's service between August and October 1944.

"For me this is a sad situation, because my lack of knowledge could make it look as though I was trying to hide something," Tusk said. "If I knew about it, I wouldn't hide it."

Asked if he should apologize, Tusk said, "If anyone should apologize it's Lech Kaczynski and his associates. ... These gentlemen should apologize above all to Poles for the dirt of this campaign."

Kaczynski said he dismissed the aide who made the initial allegation.

"I apologized to Donald Tusk for the fact that certain issues which should not be discussed were considered," he said.

Polls have shown Tusk leading Kaczynski ahead of the Oct. 23 presidential runoff vote.

In the first round of the election Oct. 9, Tusk finished narrowly in front. He took 36 percent of the vote, while Kaczynski scored 33 percent