At present, among the priorities in the issue of compensation from Germany is the earliest possible resolution of the issue of compensation for the surviving victims of the Third Reich – stressed the government plenipotentiary for Polish-German cooperation, Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, on the eve of the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

Ruchniewicz noted in a conversation with reporters that during the Polish-German consultations in July, a number of different proposals had been prepared on what future relations between these countries should look like.

For us, in the context of this year’s commemoration, it is important to highlight issues related to World War II and its consequences.

– he said.

He stressed that “several proposals” were being discussed, including compensation for surviving victims of the Third Reich and the construction of a German-Polish monument in Berlin.

But I think an equally important issue is Germany’s participation in the common defense and security policy, which is not only limited to domestic issues, but also bilateral and European. Today, a strong and secure Poland is in Germany’s interest.

– he said.

Government representatives acknowledged the neglect of reparations by the government of the People’s Republic of Poland

When asked about compensation and reparations, he stressed that this is an issue that has attracted quite a lot of public attention. He stressed that the issue of reparations is a matter of obligation between countries, and compensation is a matter between a country and its citizens.

In 1953, Poland stopped collecting reparations from Germany, but Poland never gave up seeking compensation for its citizens.

– he showed.

Asked about compensation at what stage, he said: “We are still discussing this, there is a proposal from the German side.” He stressed that it did not avoid the obligation.

When asked if there was a related declaration planned for the upcoming anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, he said he was not aware of any such declaration.

He stressed that the issue of compensation is a priority; he hopes that this issue can be resolved as soon as possible, because it concerns the elderly who are in dire need of material assistance. He emphasized that both governments must make a decision on this issue.

Ruchniewicz said that the Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation estimates that between 60,000 and 80,000 people are still alive as victims of the Third Reich. He stressed that this number is almost double the initial estimate. He added that the Foundation had provided data on the number of people who would receive compensation to the Foreign Ministry in recent days; according to the Ministry of Diplomacy, it is ready to manage the payment process going forward.

There is no fight for reparations

In a conversation with journalists, the representative recalled that there is only one open case on reparations – on the return of cultural property. As he stressed, the remaining issues have been resolved. He noted that on issues related to the World War II settlement between Poland and Germany, dialogue was resumed after the change of government, the effects of which were seen during the Polish-German intergovernmental consultations in July, which resulted in the creation of a comprehensive action plan.

According to Ruchniewicz, the issue of compensation from Germany has many aspects, and the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, by giving the German side the opportunity to present its proposals on this issue, allows it to create a better future-oriented package. According to the representative, the compensation should have three elements: compensation for the victims, an educational element – namely the construction of the German-Polish House and a common defense and security policy that is partly related to the war in Ukraine.

Ruchniewicz noted that all these elements are “under discussion,” but the most pressing issue is the issue of compensation, as those entitled to it are elderly people, and their numbers are getting smaller every year. He stressed that this is an issue that the previous Polish government did not talk about, focusing on the issue of reparations.

He said discussions in the German parliament on a German-Polish parliament were planned for late autumn.

As you can see, the representative of the government of Donald Tusk for Polish-German cooperation himself announced that he recognized the decision of the non-sovereign Polish government in 1953 to waive reparations from Germany. This attitude certainly pleased the government of Chancellor Scholz, especially after the reparations report calculated that Germany should pay Poland PLN 6 trillion and 220 billion for the damage caused during World War II.

tkwl/PAP

READ ALSO: SURVEY. What do Tusk and the December 13 coalition think about this? 58.2 percent of Poles believe that we should demand reparations from Germany!