Poland ramps up German war reparations demands

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – Warsaw is planning an information campaign to show how much damage Nazi Germany inflicted on Poland during WWII as part of its demand for reparations from Berlin, the ruling party head has said.

“We are preparing films on this subject, although of course it will take a while. We are preparing a great media operation on a global scale,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, chairman of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, told a meeting with voters in the northern city of Olsztyn on Sunday.

“The world does not understand how the war and occupation in Poland differed from the situation in other countries,” he said.

Kaczynski said in September that Warsaw would officially demand reparations estimated to be 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.3 trillion). This includes human losses – it was estimated that each person who died during the war should be compensated for with a sum of 800,000 zlotys ($170,300).

Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in October signed a diplomatic note demanding war reparations from Germany.

On Sept. 1, the 83rd anniversary of the German invasion of Poland, a parliamentary report was published on Polish losses suffered because of German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945.

Berlin claims all reparations were paid in the 1950s and will not sanction a reopening of the issue. The spat comes as Brussels is withholding several dozen billion euros in EU funds to Poland due to alleged breaches in the rule of law.

Kaczynski went on to speak of a meeting when he was prime minister in 2006-2007: “I once had such a conversation, as it turned out not accidental, in Helsinki, with then-Prime Minister of Luxembourg, (Jean-Claude) Juncker, who told me that they had forgiven the Germans for their occupation, and that we should too. Later, it turned out that it was (Angela) Merkel who had put him up to it,” Kaczynski said.

“The Germans have created a reputation as a moral power. They will lose it if they do not pay compensation," the politician added.

Poland’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arkadiusz Mularczyk told public television TVP last week that the total reparations figure is 7 trillion zlotys ($1.5 trillion).

“Let us give the German government time to think. He also observes what is happening in Poland,” he said.

“We are waiting for the US elections. Afterwards, there will probably be some adjustments in Congress and the Senate. We are waiting for the post-Israel election settlement. We are preparing visits to many foreign partners in Greece, Italy, the UK, and Scandinavia,” he added.

“This case is not just about the financial aspect. It concerns above all the dignity, dignity of our nation, our state and country,” he said.

Mularczyk also said he “is convinced that sooner or later there will be some reflection, meetings, talks, and negotiations.”

He asked: “What is the difference between Nazi Germany and modern Russia? There is none. If today the whole world says: Russia will one day pay for the crimes in Ukraine. It is on the same principle that the Germans must pay for the crimes they committed in Poland.”