The Polish government adopted a resolution on regulating the matter of reparations from Germany for the damages caused during the Second World War, according to a statement published by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s Office on Tuesday.
The resolution concerns “the topic of reparations, compensation and remedy related to the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and further occupation” and was put forward by the government’s Plenipotentiary for the Damages Caused by German aggression and Occupation between 1939 and 1945.
The resolution “formally confirms that neither during the (communist) People’s Republic of Poland nor after regaining sovereignty in 1989, the issue of reparations, damages, compensation and other forms of repairing the damage caused to Poland and Poles during World War II has not been addressed or closed in any way,” a statement reads.
The document confirms that Polish authorities believe no agreement has been concluded in the past on war reparations from Germany and such agreement must be concluded now.
War reparations from Germany have been a continuous theme in the rhetoric of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS, ECR) party since it came to power in 2015. PiS believes Berlin has never actually compensated Poland for the damages caused during the war and that it should do so.
Last year, Poland sent a diplomatic note to Berlin asking for €1.3 trillion in World War II reparations. The same sum was also specified in the resolution, based on the government report on the damages caused by Germany, published in September.
As explained in the statement by Prime Minister’s Office, the report specifies the sum of Polish losses, covering all aspects: human, financial, material, loss of cultural heritage and war damage. “The total value (…) does not reflect the enormity of the damage, but is only a conservative, economic calculation of demographic and material losses,” according to the statement.
Berlin continuously rejected Poland’s claims for reparation, maintaining that all financial claims related to World War II were settled by the Two-plus-Four Treaty of 1990, which allowed the reunification of Germany.
In 1953, Poland’s communist government, under pressure from the Soviet Union, relinquished all claims to war reparations. Moscow wanted to free East Germany, another Soviet satellite, from any liabilities. Polish authorities claim the agreement is invalid since Poland could not negotiate fair compensation at that time.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl)
Source: euractiv.com
