In many countries, there is no awareness of how much and still visible the loss Poland suffered as a result of World War II, so we must speak loudly and boldly about it, Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk told PAP.

The issue of war reparations demanded by Poland from Germany in connection with the losses was one of the main topics of his two-day visit to London, which ended on Friday. The deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland discussed this with members of the House of Commons, and provided the library of the British Parliament with several copies of the “Report on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II 1939-1945”.

In all the countries where I have been, regardless of the bilateral agenda, I raise the issue of compensation for Poland – as a historical problem, but also a problem that must be resolved because of the problem of historical justice, the dignity of our country, and the fact that the effects of war still affect our country, demographics, economy, GDP

– he said in an interview with PAP.

I also associate this problem with the war that is going on in Ukraine. The whole world is convinced that Russia will someday have to pay war indemnities to Ukraine. So if we have no doubt that Russia must pay compensation to Ukraine, Germany must also pay compensation to Poland

– added Arkadiusz Mularczyk.

He noted that it was very important in this case to raise worldwide awareness of the heavy losses Poland has suffered.

For many politicians, diplomats, and journalists, the issues of World War II were relatively unknown, many of whom were unaware that Poland suffered heavy losses during World War II only with the Holocaust. And we must really emphasize that the effects of World War II hit the Polish nation very hard, and the Jews who were killed as part of the Holocaust were also Polish citizens.

he explained.

As he points out, a prime example of the fact that reconstruction from the ashes of war has not ended is the Saxon Palace in Warsaw. “In every Polish city, region, voivodship, village you can find something that has been destroyed, burned, looted, and we must speak about it loud and bold – and demand that Germany compensates for this loss,” he stressed.

Great voice from Great Britain

Deputy Minister Mularczyk argued that for Poland the most important partner in seeking German reparations was the United States, followed by Great Britain and France. He pointed out that this is not only about the fact that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill participated in the agreements, including in Potsdam, where the issue of reparations was decided, but also because of the current strong British political influence in Europe.

We believe that the British voice on this issue is very important, hence our initiatives, our actions that we have taken today, but also the information campaigns that we look forward to conducting in the coming weeks – including in the UK Parliament, among the British media, but we hope here also for British Polonia

– he says.

kk/PAP