Poland Reveals 1.3 Trillion Claim Against Germany For Wartime Reparations

The report, published on the anniversary of the day Nazi Germany launched its invasion of Poland in 1939 and sparked the global conflict, is the latest attempt by the right-wing government in Warsaw to extract reparations from Berlin, a demand German politicians have repeatedly reject. The report comes at a time of diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Warsaw, most recently over complaints by Poland that the German government backtracked on pledges to provide military support to Kyiv following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of Polish parliamentary elections next year, Warsaw has also repeatedly accused left-wing opposition parties of colluding with Germany and working to undermine Polish national interests. The report comes five years after the Polish government set up a parliamentary commission to determine how much Warsaw believed Germany should pay for the wartime occupation of Poland, mass killings and destruction of the Polish capital and other cities. Last year, the government set up a War Loss Institute to pursue its claims against Germany as well as Russia, which partitioned Poland with Germany in 1939. However, Russia has argued that Poland should instead pay Moscow for the liberation of the country at the end of the second world war, when the Red Army advanced through Poland on its way to Berlin. Thursday’s report covered only claims against Germany. The chairman of the Polish parliamentary committee, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, defended the call for Germany to pay full reparations. “Until today, Germany has not concluded a peace treaty with Poland, or any other agreement that would regulate reparations for the consequences of the second world war,” Mularczyk said at the presentation of the report at Warsaw’s royal castle, one of myriad histories. buildings rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. Mularczyk suggested that Germany could accept reparations as part of a new Polish-German bilateral agreement. Reparations, he said, should take into account not only the destruction and other crimes committed by the Nazis, but also the loss of territory and population Poland suffered as a result of the war. But German politicians from across the political spectrum have repeatedly denied reparations to Warsaw, including last month when Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats, visited Poland. On Thursday, the German Foreign Ministry reiterated that it considers the issue of reparations to be closed. In recent decades, Germany has paid direct compensation to some Polish war victims, mainly Holocaust survivors. Berlin has also funded the preservation of Holocaust sites, including a €60 million donation to the Auschwitz concentration camp. But the payments left “the perception in Polish society that they were not enough, that the victims received only little compensation,” said Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, director of the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wroclaw. Historians and politicians also note that Poland renounced its claim to reparations nearly 70 years ago, and thus it would be “impossible [for Poland] to achieve reparations through legal means,” Ruchniewicz said. But those seeking compensation say there is no legal force in a decision made by a then-Soviet-backed communist government. Some prominent Poles accused Warsaw of fueling anti-German sentiment with baseless allegations. Jerzy Kranz, a former Polish ambassador to Germany and professor of international law at Kozminski University, described the push for reparations as “cynical” and “used by the current authorities solely for domestic political purposes and to create anti-German sentiment”. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated tensions between Warsaw and Berlin, which were already high over Poland’s claims that Germany was abusing its dominant position within the EU, particularly over the perceived erosion of the rule of law in Poland. In an interview with Polish newspaper GPC last December, Jarosław Kaczyński, head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, accused Germany of trying to reshape the EU into a “German Fourth Reich.” Speaking at Thursday’s launch, Kaczyński said Germany could afford to pay reparations that would serve to create “real Polish-German reconciliation.” Note: The initial headline amount for compensation in euros has been modified to reflect the correct conversion rate from zlotys.

title: “Poland Reveals 1.3 Trillion Claim Against Germany For Wartime Reparations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Carolyn Searchwell”

The report, published on the anniversary of the day Nazi Germany launched its invasion of Poland in 1939 and sparked the global conflict, is the latest attempt by the right-wing government in Warsaw to extract reparations from Berlin, a demand German politicians have repeatedly reject. The report comes at a time of diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Warsaw, most recently over complaints by Poland that the German government backtracked on pledges to provide military support to Kyiv following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of Polish parliamentary elections next year, Warsaw has also repeatedly accused left-wing opposition parties of colluding with Germany and working to undermine Polish national interests. The report comes five years after the Polish government set up a parliamentary commission to determine how much Warsaw believed Germany should pay for the wartime occupation of Poland, mass killings and destruction of the Polish capital and other cities. Last year, the government set up a War Loss Institute to pursue its claims against Germany as well as Russia, which partitioned Poland with Germany in 1939. However, Russia has argued that Poland should instead pay Moscow for the liberation of the country at the end of the second world war, when the Red Army advanced through Poland on its way to Berlin. Thursday’s report covered only claims against Germany. The chairman of the Polish parliamentary committee, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, defended the call for Germany to pay full reparations. “Until today, Germany has not concluded a peace treaty with Poland, or any other agreement that would regulate reparations for the consequences of the second world war,” Mularczyk said at the presentation of the report at Warsaw’s royal castle, one of myriad histories. buildings rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. Mularczyk suggested that Germany could accept reparations as part of a new Polish-German bilateral agreement. Reparations, he said, should take into account not only the destruction and other crimes committed by the Nazis, but also the loss of territory and population Poland suffered as a result of the war. But German politicians from across the political spectrum have repeatedly denied reparations to Warsaw, including last month when Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats, visited Poland. On Thursday, the German Foreign Ministry reiterated that it considers the issue of reparations to be closed. In recent decades, Germany has paid direct compensation to some Polish war victims, mainly Holocaust survivors. Berlin has also funded the preservation of Holocaust sites, including a €60 million donation to the Auschwitz concentration camp. But the payments left “the perception in Polish society that they were not enough, that the victims received only little compensation,” said Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, director of the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wroclaw. Historians and politicians also note that Poland renounced its claim to reparations nearly 70 years ago, and thus it would be “impossible [for Poland] to achieve reparations through legal means,” Ruchniewicz said. But those seeking compensation say there is no legal force in a decision made by a then-Soviet-backed communist government. Some prominent Poles accused Warsaw of fueling anti-German sentiment with baseless allegations. Jerzy Kranz, a former Polish ambassador to Germany and professor of international law at Kozminski University, described the push for reparations as “cynical” and “used by the current authorities solely for domestic political purposes and to create anti-German sentiment”. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated tensions between Warsaw and Berlin, which were already high over Poland’s claims that Germany was abusing its dominant position within the EU, particularly over the perceived erosion of the rule of law in Poland. In an interview with Polish newspaper GPC last December, Jarosław Kaczyński, head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, accused Germany of trying to reshape the EU into a “German Fourth Reich.” Speaking at Thursday’s launch, Kaczyński said Germany could afford to pay reparations that would serve to create “real Polish-German reconciliation.” Note: The initial headline amount for compensation in euros has been modified to reflect the correct conversion rate from zlotys.

title: “Poland Reveals 1.3 Trillion Claim Against Germany For Wartime Reparations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Angel Burnette”

The report, published on the anniversary of the day Nazi Germany launched its invasion of Poland in 1939 and sparked the global conflict, is the latest attempt by the right-wing government in Warsaw to extract reparations from Berlin, a demand German politicians have repeatedly reject. The report comes at a time of diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Warsaw, most recently over complaints by Poland that the German government backtracked on pledges to provide military support to Kyiv following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of Polish parliamentary elections next year, Warsaw has also repeatedly accused left-wing opposition parties of colluding with Germany and working to undermine Polish national interests. The report comes five years after the Polish government set up a parliamentary commission to determine how much Warsaw believed Germany should pay for the wartime occupation of Poland, mass killings and destruction of the Polish capital and other cities. Last year, the government set up a War Loss Institute to pursue its claims against Germany as well as Russia, which partitioned Poland with Germany in 1939. However, Russia has argued that Poland should instead pay Moscow for the liberation of the country at the end of the second world war, when the Red Army advanced through Poland on its way to Berlin. Thursday’s report covered only claims against Germany. The chairman of the Polish parliamentary committee, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, defended the call for Germany to pay full reparations. “Until today, Germany has not concluded a peace treaty with Poland, or any other agreement that would regulate reparations for the consequences of the second world war,” Mularczyk said at the presentation of the report at Warsaw’s royal castle, one of myriad histories. buildings rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. Mularczyk suggested that Germany could accept reparations as part of a new Polish-German bilateral agreement. Reparations, he said, should take into account not only the destruction and other crimes committed by the Nazis, but also the loss of territory and population Poland suffered as a result of the war. But German politicians from across the political spectrum have repeatedly denied reparations to Warsaw, including last month when Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats, visited Poland. On Thursday, the German Foreign Ministry reiterated that it considers the issue of reparations to be closed. In recent decades, Germany has paid direct compensation to some Polish war victims, mainly Holocaust survivors. Berlin has also funded the preservation of Holocaust sites, including a €60 million donation to the Auschwitz concentration camp. But the payments left “the perception in Polish society that they were not enough, that the victims received only little compensation,” said Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, director of the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wroclaw. Historians and politicians also note that Poland renounced its claim to reparations nearly 70 years ago, and thus it would be “impossible [for Poland] to achieve reparations through legal means,” Ruchniewicz said. But those seeking compensation say there is no legal force in a decision made by a then-Soviet-backed communist government. Some prominent Poles accused Warsaw of fueling anti-German sentiment with baseless allegations. Jerzy Kranz, a former Polish ambassador to Germany and professor of international law at Kozminski University, described the push for reparations as “cynical” and “used by the current authorities solely for domestic political purposes and to create anti-German sentiment”. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated tensions between Warsaw and Berlin, which were already high over Poland’s claims that Germany was abusing its dominant position within the EU, particularly over the perceived erosion of the rule of law in Poland. In an interview with Polish newspaper GPC last December, Jarosław Kaczyński, head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, accused Germany of trying to reshape the EU into a “German Fourth Reich.” Speaking at Thursday’s launch, Kaczyński said Germany could afford to pay reparations that would serve to create “real Polish-German reconciliation.” Note: The initial headline amount for compensation in euros has been modified to reflect the correct conversion rate from zlotys.

title: “Poland Reveals 1.3 Trillion Claim Against Germany For Wartime Reparations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-03” author: “Jenny Garcia”

The report, published on the anniversary of the day Nazi Germany launched its invasion of Poland in 1939 and sparked the global conflict, is the latest attempt by the right-wing government in Warsaw to extract reparations from Berlin, a demand German politicians have repeatedly reject. The report comes at a time of diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Warsaw, most recently over complaints by Poland that the German government backtracked on pledges to provide military support to Kyiv following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of Polish parliamentary elections next year, Warsaw has also repeatedly accused left-wing opposition parties of colluding with Germany and working to undermine Polish national interests. The report comes five years after the Polish government set up a parliamentary commission to determine how much Warsaw believed Germany should pay for the wartime occupation of Poland, mass killings and destruction of the Polish capital and other cities. Last year, the government set up a War Loss Institute to pursue its claims against Germany as well as Russia, which partitioned Poland with Germany in 1939. However, Russia has argued that Poland should instead pay Moscow for the liberation of the country at the end of the second world war, when the Red Army advanced through Poland on its way to Berlin. Thursday’s report covered only claims against Germany. The chairman of the Polish parliamentary committee, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, defended the call for Germany to pay full reparations. “Until today, Germany has not concluded a peace treaty with Poland, or any other agreement that would regulate reparations for the consequences of the second world war,” Mularczyk said at the presentation of the report at Warsaw’s royal castle, one of myriad histories. buildings rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. Mularczyk suggested that Germany could accept reparations as part of a new Polish-German bilateral agreement. Reparations, he said, should take into account not only the destruction and other crimes committed by the Nazis, but also the loss of territory and population Poland suffered as a result of the war. But German politicians from across the political spectrum have repeatedly denied reparations to Warsaw, including last month when Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats, visited Poland. On Thursday, the German Foreign Ministry reiterated that it considers the issue of reparations to be closed. In recent decades, Germany has paid direct compensation to some Polish war victims, mainly Holocaust survivors. Berlin has also funded the preservation of Holocaust sites, including a €60 million donation to the Auschwitz concentration camp. But the payments left “the perception in Polish society that they were not enough, that the victims received only little compensation,” said Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, director of the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wroclaw. Historians and politicians also note that Poland renounced its claim to reparations nearly 70 years ago, and thus it would be “impossible [for Poland] to achieve reparations through legal means,” Ruchniewicz said. But those seeking compensation say there is no legal force in a decision made by a then-Soviet-backed communist government. Some prominent Poles accused Warsaw of fueling anti-German sentiment with baseless allegations. Jerzy Kranz, a former Polish ambassador to Germany and professor of international law at Kozminski University, described the push for reparations as “cynical” and “used by the current authorities solely for domestic political purposes and to create anti-German sentiment”. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated tensions between Warsaw and Berlin, which were already high over Poland’s claims that Germany was abusing its dominant position within the EU, particularly over the perceived erosion of the rule of law in Poland. In an interview with Polish newspaper GPC last December, Jarosław Kaczyński, head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, accused Germany of trying to reshape the EU into a “German Fourth Reich.” Speaking at Thursday’s launch, Kaczyński said Germany could afford to pay reparations that would serve to create “real Polish-German reconciliation.” Note: The initial headline amount for compensation in euros has been modified to reflect the correct conversion rate from zlotys.