Poland believes that Germany can be convinced to change its position on World War Two reparations, the foreign minister said on Tuesday (October 4), even as his German counterpart reiterated at a joint news conference that for Berlin the issue was closed.
Poland's ruling nationalists have been ramping up hostile rhetoric towards Berlin during meetings with voters, and the issue of Poland's suffering at the hands of the German Nazi regime remains raw for many people in the country.
"Polish society still feels the trauma of the German attack in 1939, the German occupation and their negative consequences for social capital, economic potential and national heritage. This limits and puts a brake on the possibility of further development and deepening of Polish-German relations. It is high time to face this problem," Zbigniew Rau said.
"Therefore yesterday, the government I represent, asked the government of the Federal Republic of Germany for a solution to this problem and for a fair, comprehensive, material and legal settlement of the harms and losses suffered by Poles and the Polish state as a result of World War II," he added.
Rau said he hoped Germany's position would evolve through further dialogue.
Baerbock: the question of reparations is closed
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the pain caused by Germany during World War Two "is passed on through generations".
"Germany is steadfast with its historic responsibility, without any doubt. Our eternal task will remain to remind (the public) of the millionfold suffering, that Germany afflicted to Poles," she assured.
"At the same time, from the German government's view, you know that (addressing Rau), the question of reparations is closed," Baerbock added.
"The good news is – and that is the important aspect for me with all the questions where we have different, perhaps most different, opinions – the good news is that we have a common future with our European Union. This is not only our life insurance, especially during these times, but this is our instrument for the future," German foreign minister stressed.
Some six million Poles, including three million Polish Jews, were killed during the war and Warsaw was razed to the ground following a 1944 uprising in which about 200,000 civilians died.
In 1953, Poland's then-communist rulers relinquished all claims to war reparations under pressure from the Soviet Union, which wanted to free East Germany, also a Soviet satellite, from any liabilities.
Poland's ruling nationalists Law and Justice (PiS) say that agreement is invalid because Poland was unable to negotiate fair compensation. It has revived calls for compensation since it took power in 2015 and has made the promotion of Poland's wartime victimhood a central plank of its appeal to nationalism.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters