The Munich-based newspaper said Poland has presented Berlin with a proposal under which each eligible victim would receive PLN 10,000 (EUR 2,330) annually, channeled through the Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation.
The paper estimated the total cost at roughly EUR 300 million, with Germany paying an initial EUR 100 million in 2027 and declining amounts in subsequent years as the aging survivor population shrinks.
The plan is currently being discussed across several German ministries, the paper said, but has been met with legal objections, concerns about precedent-setting claims from other countries and references to Germany's strained budget.
'Humanitarian gesture'
A meeting held roughly two months ago included Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Chancellor's Office chief Thorsten Frei, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.
According to the SZ, Dobrindt and Frei reiterated that the question of war reparations is "closed" for Germany, and that only a "humanitarian gesture" remains possible.
The issue carries political weight in Poland. The paper noted that Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government is keen to ensure that any gesture not be perceived by the Polish public as charity, which would benefit right-wing populists and nationalists.
That concern led Tusk to reject a EUR 200 million offer from then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2024.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Scholz's successor, pledged in December that his government was aware of its historical responsibility toward Poland, and promised that accounting for the Nazi dictatorship "will never be a closed matter for us."
Polish victims had hoped those words signaled a turning point. "Yet those affected are still waiting in vain," the SZ wrote.
'There is no justification for the delay'
In a separate commentary, SZ journalist Daniel Broessler called the delay a disgrace.
"The longer Germany strings along the Polish victims of Nazism, the greater the shame becomes," he wrote, noting that roughly 1,000 survivors die each month.
He warned that Berlin risked the perception that it was deliberately running out the clock to reduce its financial exposure.
"There is no justification for the delay," he wrote.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP