The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland dated 3 October 2022 regarding compensation for Polish losses incurred as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II. War II. According to the German government, the issue of reparations and compensation for war losses remains closed, and the German government does not intend to enter into negotiations on this issue. According to the Polish Foreign Ministry, the German Foreign Ministry replied on 28 December 2022; the note was sent to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 3, 2023.

The guest of Poland 24 radio admitted that Germany’s attitude did not surprise him. – It is rare to meet a debtor who, after the first letter, acknowledges his obligations and pays his dues. On the contrary, it is clear that Germany recognizes its responsibility for World War II. It is also clear that no serious reparations were paid to Poland for this aggression. These are facts, and there is no point in discussing facts. The question remains how reparations should be carried out, how to force Germany to pay for them. As the whole Polish diplomacy, we will deal with this in the near future, creating a certain diplomatic pressure on Germany – said Marcin Przydacz.

– If Germany wants to be coherent and polite, they naturally have to start discussions with Poland and other countries. The story is not yet closed, even though Germany wants to close it, he added.

Law problem

On 23 August 1953, the government of the Polish People’s Republic, led personally by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish Union of Workers’ Party, Bolesław Bierut, accepted a declaration of Polish resignation from collecting war reparations from Germany. These reparations were collected by Poland from 1945 through the Soviet Union. However, there is no doubt that this declaration was forced upon the authorities of People’s Poland by the Kremlin, which decided to change its policy towards the German Democratic Republic. Germany today called for this declaration.

– In the following years, Germany made efforts to include the relevant provisions in international agreements. This also shows that Bierut’s unilateral declaration which was inconsistent with the constitution at that time was simply not enough. There was no Polish-German agreement on this, there was a unilateral declaration by the government, which was undemocratic, and the declaration was inconsistent even with the legal order of the time. These issues have been clarified in the report prepared by the experts of Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk. Germany received this report. Legal issues are clear. Germany must pay reparations – explained Przydacz.

UN forums

Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arkadiusz Mularczyk announced that he would submit a request to the United Nations with a request to intervene in the issue of reparations. In total, Poland has submitted more than 50 notes to various countries and institutions.

– The UN was formed into a kind of forum to discuss important matters. The issue of World War II and compensation for damages is important not only in Polish-German relations. The UN also has its lawyers and experts, it can be a place where international pressure will be applied. We want to use all possible forums to pursue the repair issue as actively as possible. The UN is such a place – concludes the deputy head of Polish diplomacy.