World War II: Germany refuses 1,300 billion reparations demanded by Poland

Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczynski, leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, warned that the process before Poland wins the case will be “long and difficult.” It might be a little more than that. The German government officially rejected Warsaw’s request for negotiations to compensate for the damage Poland suffered during World War II.

“According to the German government, the case on reparations and compensation for war damage remains closed, and the German government does not intend to start negotiations on this issue,” the Polish Foreign Ministry stressed. official response from Berlin. Recall that Poland requires compensation from Germany in the amount, according to its estimates, one thousand three hundred billion euros.

For Berlin, the issue of reparations is “closed”

The press service of the German Foreign Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that the federal government “reacted to Poland’s note verbale dated October 3, 2022”, while recalling that it does not publicly distribute “various contents of diplomatic correspondence.” Polish diplomacy referred the matter to the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday, asking its senior representatives for their “cooperation and support so that Poland can be compensated for the damage caused by the aggression and occupation.” The Germans in 1939-1945, according to another official press release.

Germany believes that Poland refused war reparations in 1953 and repeatedly confirmed this refusal. Berlin has made the same arguments against claims for damages made in the past by Greece and Italy. During her October 4 visit to Warsaw, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock had already indicated that “from the point of view of the federal government, the issue of reparations is closed”, while assuring that her country assumed “historical responsibility, not “if” or ” but”.

Polish nationalist conservatives in power dispute the validity of this 1953 agreement, stating that Warsaw acted at the time under pressure from the Soviet Union. Since coming to power in Poland in 2015, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has frequently championed the issue of war reparations, insisting that Germany has a “moral duty” on the issue.