Word: grasse
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...former trade unionist and Polish President Lech Walesa is the city of Gdansk's most famous son, then its second-most famous progeny is probably the Nobel Laureate German writer Gunter Grass. Grass, of course, was born in Danzig, as Gdansk was known before it reverted to Poland at the end of World War II. And while Walesa became internationally renowned for leading the shipyard strike that led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union and proved to be a decisive blow in the collapse of Polish communism, Grass was honored for his passionate and clear-eyed excoriation...
...when Grass confessed that, as a teenager in the closing months of World War II, he had joined the Waffen SS, Walesa was a prominent critic, demanding that the German writer be stripped of his honorary citizenship of the city. Now, a year later, Grass is being welcomed back to Gdansk with a series of performances, readings and panel discussions to mark his 80th birthday - and Walesa is among those welcoming...
...interview with TIME, Walesa explained his change of heart: Because his own father was killed while fleeing the Germans, he said, he had little tolerance for "that generation." But in figures such as Grass, "we see examples of those who are helping us pass from a hostile period to a period of peace...
...Grass, for his own part, said he was happy to be back in the city of his birth to "spend time with friends." He said he was grateful to the city fathers for being understanding of his troubles, and for deciding to reach out to him despite the criticism he faced in many quarters. "In those difficult days, it was a great help for me," he said Thursday. "I felt cornered and then I got this signal of tolerance and openness from my home town...
...things may be changing. Non?governmental groups such as Komen for the Cure and the World Health Organization sponsor lectures, professional gatherings and promotional events to educate women and caregivers about the disease. Grass-roots initiatives are sprouting up in places that never dared mention the disease before. Dr. Mohamed Shaalan, a breast surgeon in Cairo, reports that in Egypt, religious leaders now speak out in favor of breast-cancer awareness and screening, making it clear to husbands that their wives must be examined regularly - by male doctors if need be. In Hungary, where every woman from...