Arkadiusz Mularczyk held the talks at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
He was hosted by the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary A. Di Carlo, officials said.
Mularczyk also met with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, reporters were told.
Afterwards, the Polish diplomat said he had briefed Di Carlo and Fleming on the findings of a report on Poland’s wartime losses caused by Germany, adding that the two UN officials expressed “a lot of interest” in the report.
Mularczyk told reporters that his week-long trip to the US was designed to build awareness among top lawmakers, government officials and UN leaders about “the great harm Germany inflicted on Poland during World War II, which has never been compensated for.”
Mularczyk said: “I regard this visit as the first stage of my activity in the US and at the UN. The topic had to be put on the international agenda and we have managed to accomplish this.”
He added that many lawmakers and officials he met were surprised to learn that Germany had never compensated Poland for World War II.
Mularczyk stated: “I believe there is potential for cooperation in the US Congress, because US lawmakers are very strongly attached to property rights, freedom and the rule of law.”
'Historical issues that need to be resolved'
He also said that officials at the US State Department had stressed the need for Western and NATO unity in the face of the war in Ukraine.
“I made it clear that Poland backs NATO unity and supports Ukraine, but there are also historical issues that need to be resolved,” Mularczyk said, adding he was certain that “the US administration will be more understanding of our policy after reading the report on Poland’s wartime losses.”
Mularczyk also said he counted on the support of America’s Poles, who would be able to put pressure on American politicians to take up the issue of compensation for World War II.
He spoke to members of the Polish community at the consulate in New York on Thursday, and was set to hold further meetings in Chicago on Friday, the IAR news agency reported.
Poland demands WWII damages from Germany
Mularczyk’s visit to the United States is part of Poland’s push to secure compensation from Germany for World War II.
In September last year, Poland's government announced that the losses suffered by the country at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II totalled PLN 6.22 trillion (EUR 1.3 trillion) and that it would demand compensation from Berlin.
In October, Polish Foreign Minister Zbgniew Rau signed a formal note to the government in Berlin, demanding compensation for losses Poland sustained during the war.
According to the German government, "the issue of reparations and compensation for World War II losses remains closed” and Berlin "does not intend to enter into negotiations on the matter," officials have said.
Source: IAR, dorzeczy.pl
(pm/gs)