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Polish deputy FM proposes new move to make Germany pay WWII damages

07.04.2023 09:00
A Polish deputy foreign minister has proposed that his government adopt a resolution stating that the issue of compensation for World War II from Germany “is not closed” and “must be settled” as Warsaw continues to pile pressure on Berlin to pay war damages.
Arkadiusz Mularczyk.
Arkadiusz Mularczyk.PAP/Albert Zawada

Arkadiusz Mularczyk announced the planned new move on Thursday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported. 

The deputy foreign minister said in a tweet: “I have submitted a draft government resolution which states the need to settle the issue of reparations for war losses in Polish-German relations.”

He added: “The resolution would call on Germany to comply with international law, according to which Germany bears responsibility for the war crimes committed.”

Meanwhile, the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the resolution proposed by Mularczyk was designed “to confirm formally and in a formally binding manner that the issue of reparations, compensation, redress and other forms of remedying the damage inflicted on Poland and the Polish people during World War II has not been closed in any way, either during the communist period or after Poland regained sovereignty.” 

'Germany should take immediate action to compensate losses'

The ministry added that the proposed government resolution "will constitute a legal act that will be binding for other institutions and will confirm that the issue of compensation for the damage and wrongs inflicted by Germany during World War II has not been settled in the form of an international agreement between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany, and that such an agreement should be entered into.”

Moreover, the resolution will "represent a call on the German government to comply with the principles of international law, according to which this country bears full responsibility for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and systemic plunder committed on Polish territory, which are not subject to a statute of limitations,” according to Poland’s foreign ministry.

The statement added: “We believe that the Federal Republic of Germany should take immediate action to compensate the losses incurred by Poland and its citizens.”

Warsaw demands WWII damages from Berlin

In September last year, the Polish government announced that the losses suffered by Poland at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II totalled PLN 6.22 trillion (EUR 1.3 trillion) and that it would demand compensation from Berlin.

In October, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau signed a formal note to the government in Berlin, demanding compensation for losses Poland sustained during the war.

According to the German government, "the issue of reparations and compensation for World War II losses remains closed” and Berlin "does not intend to enter into negotiations on the matter," officials have said.

A German-language edition of the Polish government’s report on Poland's wartime losses is set to be unveiled in Germany in May, the IAR news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, tvp.info