Poland’s new government’s foreign minister said Tuesday he would like German leaders to think “creatively” about compensating Poland for the huge losses it suffered at the hands of the Germans during World War II.
Poland’s previous government demanded $1.3 trillion in reparations for Nazi Germany’s 1939-45 invasion and occupation.
German officials have consistently said Berlin recognises its historical responsibility, but the reparations issue was settled decades ago.
Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski spoke at a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Berlin ahead of talks on improving bilateral relations between the states. Sikorski said when talking about a project in Berlin to memorialize Poland’s suffering:
“I will also ask the minister (to make) the German government think in a creative way about finding a form of compensation for these war losses, or of redress.”
Baerbock did not address calls for reparations, however, saying that “confronting the suffering of millions of people that Germany brought to Poland remains a task for all time.”
Poland, which had about 31 million people in 1939, lost about 6 million of its citizens, half of them Jews, during the Nazi occupation. It also suffered massive damage to its industry, infrastructure and cultural heritage.
Germany insists that the question of reparations was closed by decisions taken during communist times, when Warsaw refused to demand reparations. Poland emphasises that it was under the Soviet Union at the time, so the statement was not legally binding.
