German Chancellor Angela Merkel assured Poland on Wednesday that a memorial center to Germans expelled from eastern Europe after World War II would not be a means to reinterpret history or absolve Nazi crimes.

Three weeks ago, the German government took a first step toward setting up a memorial to millions of ethnic Germans who were forced from their homes in Poland, Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in eastern and central Europe when the borders shifted westward following World War II.

"This foundation cannot and will not serve to reinterpret history, or to confuse the causes with the results," Merkel said. "Only those who confront their own history are able to keep an open mind on how to move forward into the future."