On Monday, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister arrived in Germany for a three-day visit to hold a series of meeting with his German counterparts and other officials.
The aim of the journey was announced as the willingness to enhance dialogue between both sides of the Oder on several topics, including potential war reparations for damages caused by Germany to its eastern neighbour during WWII.
Just before leaving Warsaw, Arkadiusz Mularczyk told Polskie Radio that he intends to “meet his counterparts, but not only, because also with other important politicians from the German government, and raise all the difficult issues that are in our Polish-German relations”.
„Die Frage der #Reparationen hat eine fundamentale Bedeutung für Polen.
Es geht nicht alleine um eine politische Frage,sondern um die Würde Polens”Der VizeAußenminister/Reparationsbeauftragte @arekmularczyk beim @dpa zum Auftakt seines 🇩🇪Antrittsbesuchs.https://t.co/yS3NVlURrt pic.twitter.com/soq2jBGPtS
— Botschaft Polen DE (@PLinDeutschland) December 6, 2022
While speaking to German media, the Polish politician stressed that the issue of reparations is of fundamental importance for Poland and that it is “not just a political issue but about the dignity of Poland”.
In a recent interview with British Poles, the Deputy Foreign Minister criticised Germany’s stance toward Warsaw regarding bilateral cooperation efforts. He accused Berlin of “doing everything to postpone the topic of war reparations for Poland”.
Germany’s strategy was to drag this whole history out, to postpone it, hoping it would be time-barred and forgotten. They did everything to postpone this topic.
“Germany’s strategy was to drag this whole history out, to postpone it, hoping it would be time-barred and forgotten. They did everything to postpone this topic,” – he told us back in August.
On 1 September, an official 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. The report estimates Poland’s WWI losses caused by Germany at €1.3 trillion.
Apart from discussing the sensitive issue of reparations, Mularczyk headed to Berlin in order to address the problematic situation of the numerous Polish diaspora living in Germany. Contrary to the German minority residing in Poland, Poles in Germany are not officially recognised as an ethnic minority, which negatively influences their socio-political position.
Image: Twitter (@PLinDeutschland)
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
