Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday that the issue of receiving reparations from Germany for damage to Poland during World War II is closed.
Sikorski told public television TVP Info:
“Germany admits that it owes a moral debt to Poland. We strive to ensure that this feeling of guilt finds material expression. Since (opposition and previously ruling party Law and Justice) PiS did not solve anything for eight years, we think that now we need to let Germany figure out how to restore moral order, restore Poles’ feeling that the Germans are sorry and want to do something about it.”
The PiS government demanded reparations worth $1.3 trillion.
Sikorski said that Poland “has already received reparations in accordance with the Potsdam Treaty at the end of the Second World War”. Sikorski replied, when asked about the reactivation of the Weimar Triangle format:
“We have ended this unnecessary cold war with European institutions, with Germany, because of which we cannot spend money from the National Reconstruction Plan like other countries.”
He stressed that “Poland needs money from the National Recovery Plan (KPO) to complete our modernisation, which has already been dramatically delayed.”
Last week, Sikorski discussed the issue of German war reparations in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel. He said:
“This is an important topic for us. Poland was a victim of World War II twice: from the German side and when Soviet troops imposed communism on us.”
Compensation could consist of “the Germans rebuilding one of the destroyed buildings in Warsaw, perhaps the Saxon Palace. Germany could also finance medical care for the victims or invest in our countries’ defence capabilities,” he said.
Following the publication of Sikorski’s comments, the German Foreign Ministry said:
“There are no limits to Germany’s responsibility, work for commemoration and reconciliation with Poland. At the same time, the position of the Federal Government, known for years, is that in our opinion the issue of reparations is closed.”
Earlier this week, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski accused Germany of a “racist attitude” towards Poles on the issue of reparations. He said:
“Germany has not changed its relations with Poles and Prime Minister Donald Tusk is at the service of Germany.”
