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Dispute over WWII compensation for Polish victims

03.07.2024 14:45
The prime ministers of Poland and Germany discussed the issue of compensation for Polish victims of World War II during intergovernmental consultations in Warsaw.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) meet in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) meet in Warsaw on Tuesday. PAP/Marcin Obara

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed that his country would support Polish victims of Nazi German occupation, but ruled out the payment of war reparations, saying that the legal aspects of this issue have already been settled.

Instead, Germany announced plans to build a memorial centre in Berlin to honor those who did not survive the war.

Duda and Mularczyk: German position on war reparations for Poland is insufficient

President Andrzej Duda and Arkadiusz Mularczyk, MEP and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed dissatisfaction with this position, considering it insufficient.

"If the Prime Minister agrees with the German position that there was some renunciation, then I must say: I do not agree with this," stated the Polish President.

Arkadiusz Mularczyk further emphasized that the issue of war reparations for Poland remains open and must be persistently pursued.

Tusk: It was PiS that renounced reparations. We are fighting for compensation

In response to the criticism from opposition representatives, Prime Minister Tusk explained that the politicians from Jarosław Kaczyński's party are responsible for renouncing compensation for Poles who were victims of Nazi crimes.

"PiS Minister Fotyga signed the document renouncing reparations for Poland; our government is securing compensation from Germany. Morawiecki included a diesel tax in the KPO, and we arranged its removal with the Commission. Green Deal, migrants, Ukrainian grain - always the same," wrote Prime Minister Tusk.

Fotyga contradicts herself. She signed the renunciation of reparations but claims that Poland still deserves them

To confirm the responsibility of the previous administration, current Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski shared a post by "Gazeta Wyborcza" journalist Wojciech Czuchnowski on the platform x.com.

The recording shows how Anna Fotyga, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jarosław Kaczyński's government, responds to a question about the signature she personally placed on the document confirming that Poland renounced claims for reparations for Nazi victims.

"Indeed, someone might have set me up, and I might have signed it, but the truth is that I have always believed that Poland deserves reparations," said Fotyga.

Source: PAP/x.com/@donaldtusk/@prezydentpl/@sikorskiradek

(mp)