At a joint conference with Prime Minister Donald Tusk during his visit to Poland, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany is aware of „its great guilt and responsibility for the million victims of the German occupation” and „will try to provide support” to the survivors. However, the details of this support and the number of its recipients remain unknown.
“Germany will try to provide support to survivors of the occupation. Germany wants to support the memory of our common history. For this purpose, the federal cabinet decided to create a place in Berlin to commemorate the Polish victims of World War II and the Nazi occupation,” said the German Chancellor.
Chancellor Scholz’s declaration was met with discontent from members of almost all political parties and commentators.
Anna Maria Żukowska (Head of the Left in Parliament) accused Scholz of using incomprehensible language regarding the compensation for Polish victims.
„Not even that 'Germany WILL provide support (what kind? Will they send them flowers for their funeral?’), but 'they will try.’ And only those who survived their occupation,” the Polish MP wrote. According to her, Donald Tusk, standing next to the German Chancellor, should have reacted more actively when he heard such words.
“The Chancellor of Germany, the largest economy in Europe and one of the largest economies in the world, who says that his country “will try” to provide support for survivors of the German occupation of Poland is a chancellor who brazenly implies that Germany does not care about its responsibility,” wrote journalist Jakub Wiech.
Meanwhile, Tagesschau, a German-language news daily owned by the ARD, focused, among others, on the Chancellors’ enthusiasm regarding the economic cooperation between the countries during his visit. „There was little specific information on the controversial issue of compensation for World War II,” the daily noted.
Politico journalist Hans von der Burchard wrote that the lack of a clear declaration that Germany would pay compensation for Polish living victims of World War II is proof that „the Polish-German summit failed.”
The other aspects of the visit in media relations were mostly overshadowed by the unsolved historical disputes.
As for Today Poland never received compensation or signed an official document closing that question with the German state after the end of the 2 World War. Despite certain legal opinions about the validity of Polish claims, it is believed that the question still needs more attention from German policymakers.
It is also important to note that in 2021, Germany pledged EUR 1.1 billion for development projects for its former colony of Namibia, where it oversaw genocide and forced experiments. Germany also paid approximately $86.8 billion in reparations to Holocaust victims.
Photo: fsHH/Pixabay
Tomasz Modrzejewski
