Polish politician Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced Thursday his government's intent to seek hefty reparations from Germany for the costs incurred at the hands of Nazi German occupiers during World War II, the AP reported.
Thursday marked 83 years since Germany's invasion of Poland and the start of World War II. Polish officials marked the occasion with the release of a long-awaited report that revealed the cost borne by the Polish people and economy from years of Nazi occupation, according to the AP. During a presentation, Kacyznski shared the report's findings and emphasized his country's resolve to open negotiations with Germany for compensation. The leader of the Law and Justice party cited a desire for “true Polish-German reconciliation” based on “truth,” the AP said.
Kaczynski's call for compensation is not the first time Poland has sought payment from Germany for losses suffered during World War II. “Poland lost not only millions of its citizens but it was also destroyed in an unusually brutal way,” Arkadiusz Mularczyk, head of the Polish parliamentary committee on reparations told Reuters in 2019. Mularczyk estimated that outstanding reparations amount to more than $850 billion in damages, according to Reuters.
In the same year, the Greek government also called on Germany to open negotiations into reparations, according to a piece in Deutsche Welle (DW). A 2016 parliamentary committee suggested Greece could seek $328 million in reparations for WWII, along with $9.2 billion for WWI, DW reported. Germany refused to negotiate, maintaining all debts were settled long ago. As of January 2020, Athens still considered the matter unresolved.
Poland now estimates losses inflicted by Germany amount to more than $1.3 trillion, surpassing the $850 million Polish leaders demanded three years ago. Approximately six million Poles lost their lives in World War II and Warsaw was decimated in 1944. “Germany has never really accounted for its crimes against Poland,” Kaczynski stated. Poland's newly released report is the culmination of research begun in 2017 by a team of more than 30 economists, historians and other experts.
President Andrzej Duda on Thursday described the war as “one of the most terrible tragedies in our history.” “Not only because it took our freedom, not only because it took our state from us, but also because this war meant millions of victims among Poland's citizens and irreparable losses to our homeland and our nation,” Duda said.
As with Greece, Germany considers any claims to reparations long since resolved. In 1953, Poland's communist leaders, under pressure from the Soviet Union, waived any further rights to reparations. “The German government's position is unchanged: the reparations question is closed,” a German Foreign Office spokesperson said. “Poland renounced further reparations a long time ago, in 1953, and has since repeatedly confirmed this.”
Polish opposition leader and former president of the European Council Donald Tusk claimed that the renewed calls are “not about reparations,” according to Reuters. “It's about an internal political campaign to rebuild support for the ruling party,” he said.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
The idea of reparations for offenses from so long ago is about being re-elected in their own countries, not about Germany. If they receive reparations, should the US then receive reparations for our efforts to free them – and then to rebuild their countries under the Marshall Plan?
Remember the past so as not to repeat the same mistakes, but stop dwelling on situations that no longer exist. Let history live in the past where it belongs.
Today’s Polish and German populations have no responsibility for the inactions or actions of their predecessors. And, as the Europeans learned in the early 20th Century, reparations which destroyed the post WWI economy of Germany only lead to future hostilities. It is a moral, God fearing victor who, after defeating an aggressive enemy, seeks an enduring peace through reconciliation.
There are so many other aspects to the question of reparations. Where would Poland be today if not for the costly and sacrificial interventions of the United States on the western front and Russia on the Eastern front. It seems that many, if not most, people today want something for nothing. Peaceful freedom does not come without effort on the part of the general population and control over belligerent leaders whose only investment in conflict is oversized egos and future financial gain.
Havent paid since 1945 for damages done