Eliza Olczyk, “Wprost”: Are you surprised that just one month after the publication of the report on Polish losses in World War II, the Polish government sent the German government a note regarding compensation?

Arkadiusz Mularczyk: I am not surprised because there is a certain dynamic of events. Three very important events have occurred in the last month. We published a report on Polish losses, which received enormous public attention. The Sejm, by a majority vote, adopted a resolution in favor of our efforts to obtain compensation from Germany for the losses incurred during World War II. And our government has prepared a note on this matter to the German government.

In my opinion, these three events are epoch-making. We have never had a situation like this in Polish-German relations before.

The head of the German Foreign Ministry who met with our Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau did not seem to agree with this, because he said that the federal government considers the issue of reparations closed. The German president said the same thing Frank Walter Steinmeier in an interview with President Andrzej Duda.

Diplomatic records cover a much wider area than just war reparations. There are nine points that concern material damage, return of cultural property, robbery of bank accounts, company exploitation policies, confiscation of Polish property, rehabilitation of the murdered. It cannot be concluded in one sentence at all, that the matter of repairs has been closed.

I think Germany should hold consultations with all three parties of the ruling coalition and determine the position of the whole government.

The Polish government’s note must be taken seriously as it will have important international implications.