Poland’s Foreign Ministry declared disrespect for Germany after its refusal to discuss reparations

Germany’s response to the note of the Polish Foreign Ministry on compensation for the damage caused by Nazi Germany during the Second World War indicates a disrespectful attitude towards Poland and the Poles, declared in an interview with PAP, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Arkadiusz Mularczyk.

November 3 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland reported about receiving a note from the German Foreign Ministry, which responded to the note of the republic dated October 3 last year.

“According to the statement of the German government, the issue of reparations and compensation for military losses remains closed and the German government does not intend to enter into negotiations on this matter,” the Polish Foreign Ministry said, adding that Warsaw would continue its efforts to settle debts arising from German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945

In Poland, the note of the German authorities was negatively perceived and stated that there was “no legal answer” in it.

“Secondly, this is a response that is disrespectful to the Polish state and the Poles. The losses of Poland were unimaginable, the Germans received our report on this matter. This answer, summarized in one sentence, shows an absolutely disrespectful attitude towards Poland and the Poles,” said Mularczyk.

According to the deputy head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Warsaw will continue to act on the issue of collecting reparations “consistently and intensively”, and sooner or later Germany will have to change its attitude.

On January 3, the Polish Foreign Office also statedthat Poland turned to the UN with a request to assist in obtaining compensation for the damage caused by German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945.

“Poland hopes that the German government will respond appropriately to Polish demands. Germany, which has been a member of the UN since 1973, must take systematic steps to compensate for the losses Poland has suffered from Germany. We hope to start a discussion at the UN forum to draw the attention of the international community to a problem that has not been resolved since the end of the war,” the statement said.

As declared Mularczyk on Polish Radio, the country also raised the issue of reparations through UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The goal of Warsaw, he said, is to inform the international community about the existence of the problem of “unrecorded crimes.”

On September 14, the Polish parliament adopted a resolution in which it called on the political leadership of the FRG to “unconditionally assume political, historical, legal and financial responsibility” for all the harm inflicted by Nazi Germany on the Polish people. The resolution notes that Warsaw has never received any compensation.

At the end of October, the Polish Foreign Ministry published a complete list of demands on Germany for compensation for damage caused during the Second World War. In particular, Poland demands from Germany to compensate for material and non-material losses in the amount of 6.2 trillion zlotys, or $1.3 trillion, to pay compensation to the victims of “German aggression and occupation” and their families, to return to Poland “stolen” cultural values ​​that are now located in Germany.

The head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Zbigniew Rau, said that the trauma inflicted by Germany during the war years “slows down the possibility of further development and deepening of Polish-German relations.” In turn, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock noted that Germany is aware of “its historical responsibility”, but considers the issue of reparations closed.