Poland’s report on war losses due to German invasion and occupation during World War II has been presented at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
“Poland will apply for war reparations […] for all that the Germans did in Poland from 1939 to 1945”,- said Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. “We do not promise that it will be a quick success,” he added.
The former Prime Minister emphasised that remembering the atrocities perpetrated on Polish soil and demanding justice for them was a “Polish obligation, the elimination of a certain deficiency, a certain gap in our activity as a sovereign state”. He underlined that the matter should have been taken care of “long ago”.
The PiS leader also recalled that dozens of countries worldwide had received compensation from Germany, contrary to Poland. He criticises what he perceives as an “inferiority complex” which, in his opinion, undermined the ability of Poland’s previous rulers to get the record straight in the sensitive matter of German war reparations.
“Germany has never really accounted for its crimes against Poland, Kaczyński continued. “German pedagogy and historical policy bypass German crimes committed against Poland and the Polish nation. These crimes have never become part of the German consciousness,” – he regretted.
The report on losses suffered by Poland during the war was prepared by the Parliamentary Team for Estimating the Amount of Compensation Due to Poland from Germany for Damages Caused During World War II, led by the Law and Justice MP Arkadiusz Mularczyk. A group of 30 scientists, including historians, economists, property appraisers, and reviewers, was responsible for the report.
The report can be downloaded here (in Polish and English).
Images: British Poles
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
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