The German media wrote about reports of reparations!

Posted On: April 2, 2023

“This report may be a serious test for German-Polish relations”

On the 83rd anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, Poland wants to calculate the damage caused by the German occupiers. This report may be a serious test for German-Polish relations, wrote the Welt daily portal on Thursday.

with screenshots from welt.de

By presenting an expert opinion on the extent of the damage suffered during World War II, Poland wants to emphasize Germany’s demands for compensation

Welt explained.

It is known that the report of the Polish parliamentary commission will be three volumes, and to determine the specific amount of the estimated losses.

This can be a high three-digit number, in the billions. According to earlier Polish estimates, based on the state of 1946 at interest, the war damage caused by Germany amounted to EUR 800 billion.

the newspaper added.

As “Welt” reminds us, the German invasion of Poland, launched on September 1, 1939, was the start of World War II, which killed at least 55 million people. Some estimates put as many as 80 million victims.

In relation to the size of its population, Poland has had to mourn more deaths than any other country. Between four and six million Poles died, nearly a fifth of the country’s entire population

– emphasized the “Welt”, adding that the level of damage caused by the Nazi invaders was also relatively high, including the almost complete destruction of the capital of Poland – Warsaw.

In the 1945 Potsdam Agreement, the four victorious powers agreed that the Soviet Union would receive compensation from the Soviet occupation zone (East Germany).

However, the government in Warsaw argued that Poland should compensate for its share of the coal supply to the Soviet Union. In addition, Western countries such as France and the Netherlands are treated much better

Welt pointed out.

The current German federal government took the position that the issue of reparations for Poland was legally and politically closed during the 1990 Two Plus Four Conference.

However, the issue of reparations was not explicitly mentioned in the agreements concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany, East Germany and the four former occupying powers: the United States, the Soviet Union, France and the United Kingdom.

— notes the “Welt”, noting the fact that “many countries that were invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, such as Greece and Poland, did not participate in these negotiations.”

The newspaper recalled that during his maiden visit to Warsaw last December, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) set aside Poland’s claims for World War II reparations. Scholz went on to explain that “Germany makes a very, very high contribution to the EU budget.”

“Welt” also pointed out that representatives of the PiS government have repeatedly raised the issue of reparations, and a parliamentary commission to prepare a report on the estimated amount of war damage was formed at the initiative of this party in 2017.

In November, on the occasion of Poland’s creation of the War Losses Institute, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the need to seek reparations, because “Poland was treated very badly, receiving no compensation.”

“Poland ‘sends’ bill for World War II”

Other German media – the BILD newspaper and the weekly Die Zeit – wrote about the Polish reports on the reparations. BILD posts information regarding this as a headline on its website.

Poland “send” a bill for the Second World War

BILD report. However, in the text, the Germans write about Poland’s actions in a negative context

The Polish government was clearly determined to open another front – financial – against Germany in the middle of the war

BILD wrote.

To balance the presentation of the report, BILD said that the leader of the Polish opposition, Donald Tusk, criticized the report submitted.

Jarosław Kaczyński did not hide that he wanted to increase support for the ruling party with this anti-German campaign

– quoting Tusk BILD.

The Polish government wanted to formally demand that Germany pay compensation for damages caused during World War II

– show in turn Die Zeit. This German media, in turn, recalls the statements of the former head of PO Grzegorz Schetyna indicating that there are politicians in Poland who are skeptical of demanding reparations from Germany.