Sejm urges Germany to take responsibility for consequences of WWII

In the vote on the resolution, 418 lawmakers were in favour, 4 were against, and 15 abstained.

Three parliamentary clubs had submitted separate draft resolutions demanding war reparations from Germany: Law and Justice (PiS), Civic Coalition (KO), and Polish People's Party - Polish Coalition (PSL-KP). The parliamentary commission then chose the ruling PiS party's draft as the leading project. A number of amendments were proposed during the works and one of them was adopted in a vote - Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski's (PSL-KP) suggestion to replace the word "reparations" with "atonement".

The commission also included a provision saying that Poland had not received adequate financial compensation and war reparations for losses suffered during World War II as a result of Soviet Union's aggression.

Speaker of the Sejm Elżbieta Witek announced that in the end the chamber had adopted a resolution in which Poland demands atonement for damage caused by Germany during World War II.

In the resolution, the Sejm "calls upon the Federal Republic of Germany to explicitly take political, historical, legal and financial responsibility for all the consequences caused in the Republic of Poland and to the citizens of the Republic of Poland as a result of starting World War II by the Third German Reich".

The resolution also underscores that Poland has never been compensated for human and material losses caused by the German state, nor has it received atonement for the enourmous harm inflicted on Polish citizens.

"The Sejm of the Republic of Poland declares that rightfully represented Polish state has never renounced its claims towards the German state," we read in the resolution.

Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau told reporters later on Wednesday that the official note regarding war reparations would be sent to the German side in early October.