On 3 October 2022, Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau handed a diplomatic note to Germany concerning reparations for damages committed by this state on Poland during WWII. Poland estimates its WWII losses caused by Germany at €1.3 trillion.
Three months later, Germany officially replied to the above-mentioned note by reiterating Berlin’s well-known stance that “the issue is closed”.
„According to the German Government, the matter of reparations and compensation for war losses remains closed, and the German Government does not intend to enter into negotiations on this matter,” we read in an official statement published by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
„The government of the Republic of Poland will continue its efforts to settle debts resulting from German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945,” the statement adds.
Poland’s Minister for EU affairs, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, told Radio Zet that the news didn’t surprise him at all.
„The position of the German government has been known for a long time, but this certainly does not end the matter” – he assured.
In turn, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for the Estimation of Compensation Due to Poland from Germany for Damages Caused During World War II, announced that Poland is to continue to act on the issue of reparations and conduct dialogue with Germany through international organisations.
The parliamentary group coordinated by Mularczyk recently published a detailed scientific report on losses suffered by Poland during WWII. Mularczyk himself handed it to his German counterparts during a trip to Berlin a few weeks ago.
The position of the @GermanyDiplo on our note is false. The case of unsettled compensation for Poland for the effects of WWII remains open; morally, politically, and legally. We have an international campaign ahead of us, but I am sure that we will win for both Poland and Poles!
— Arkadiusz Mularczyk MEP (@arekmularczyk) January 3, 2023
“If Germany’s position on the elaborate Polish note is actually one-sentence […] this […] shows that it is de facto unclear what arguments the German government is referring to […] There is no answer of a legal nature here, that is the first point […] The second issue is that this is an answer that disrespects the Polish state and Poles. Poland’s losses were unimaginable […]” – he bitterly explained, as quoted by TVP World.
As mentioned above, Warsaw doesn’t intend to give up and is about to activate new international tools in order to change Berlin’s attitude regarding this challenging issue.
Image: Unsplash
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
