The German occupation of Poland was one of the most violent in European history; millions of Polish citizens have never received compensation for the unimaginable human and material losses they suffered during World War II, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote in a text published Wednesday in the German weekly Der Spiegel.

The text of the head of government in the German press was announced on Twitter by the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paweł Jabłoński.

Why is Poland demanding compensation from Germany for World War II crimes? Because this case was never solved. Prime Minister @MorawieckiM reminds 🇩🇪 readers of the basic facts. Very important text on @derspiegel. Another step to change the attitude 🇩🇪 public opinion

– he wrote.

In 1939, “the killing and looting began”

I read with interest how Germans continue to deal with the dark side of their past. For example, in the most recent issue of SPIEGEL GESCHICHTE, an article entitled +Arisierung: Die Liquidation+ describes the carefully planned and strictly executed takeover of German Jews between 1933 and 1939. In this way, the National Socialists created an organizational framework for the persecution and killing of people Jewish

– wrote Prime Minister Morawiecki.

German society – I think – is well aware of what has been done to the Jews

– noted the head of the Polish government, adding that it seemed that what the Nazis were doing in Poland was almost invisible. In 1939, “the killing and looting began.”

The German invasion of our country and six years of occupation left wounds that have not healed to this day. We ask the United Nations, our partners in Europe and, of course, Germany to make them aware of this problem

he noted.

Entire generations of Polish artists, writers and cultural activists fell victim to the totalitarian war machine. The extraordinary cultural creativity of Poland has been irretrievably lost

– reminds Morawiecki in Spiegel.

It disappeared along with thousands of stolen works of art, dozens of monuments destroyed, paintings stolen, statues destroyed, in burned libraries and archives, in looted museums, in the ruins of Polish cities.

Behind every one of these lost pieces of art is a man with his education, skill and creativity. Cultural, intellectual and artistic creativity are the common threads that have woven through the centuries and connect them – and this was the goal of the total Nazi war: Poland would be wiped off the face of the earth, erased from memory. Total annihilation was the goal

the prime minister emphasized.

“The German occupation was one of the most violent in European history.”

Mateusz Morawiecki recalls in his text that “the German occupation of Poland and its systematic genocide caused immeasurable suffering and material and immaterial losses. As a result of World War II, 5.5 million people died or went missing in Poland. 21 percent of them are children under the age of ten. 3.7 million of these victims died in the death camps alone.

From the start of the occupation, the Germans considered works of art in public and private collections as spoils of war. The first organized robbery occurred in October 1939; Germany ordered works of art, such as paintings, books and sculptures, to be transported from Kraków to the Reich. In addition to public cultural institutions, private collections were also plundered. The occupying authorities and private individuals took part in the heist; Wehrmacht soldiers stole, for example, Polish jewelry or paintings

– wrote Prime Minister Morawiecki.

He recalled that “the invaders terrorized and killed hundreds of thousands of artists, scientists, teachers and writers.” In the so-called “Intelligenzaktion”, the state lost half of its lawyers, 40 percent of doctors, 20 percent of academic teachers.

Towns and villages, historic architecture has been destroyed. Warsaw is the European city that suffered the most during World War II. The Polish capital lost 92 percent. historic building

– we read in the text.

The “Report on Polish war losses as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II”, published last year, depicts the true size of the material losses suffered by the Poles during the German occupation: these Polish losses are estimated at just over PLN 6,220. 609 million (about EUR 1.3 trillion) – says Mateusz Morawiecki.

The German occupation was one of the cruelest in European history, depriving at least a generation of opportunities for the future. Millions of Polish citizens have never received compensation for the unimaginable human and material losses they suffered during World War II

– wrote the Prime Minister, emphasizing:

We believe that the 1953 agreement between East Germany and the Polish People’s Republic was invalid: then the Soviet Union forced the dependent Warsaw government to abandon reparations.

“Germany did not pay any compensation.”

Prime Minister Morawiecki also pointed out that “attempts by private individuals to obtain compensation before a German court have also failed. Germany did not pay – from our point of view – any compensation for the historically unprecedented destruction of Polish lands or the looting of its neighbors.

We know how difficult it is to reach the modern world with this truth. But in relations between people and also between countries, truth and justice must be the highest values. With this in mind, we demand that our German partners ultimately bear political, historical, legal and financial responsibility for all the consequences of attacks on our country.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki concluded.

kk/PAP