The essay, published on Wednesday, comes days after Warsaw unveiled a report on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II.
Morawiecki wrote: “Not all Western European countries understand the full scale of the tragedy for Poland that was wrought by World War II. From a Western perspective, the conflict can be seen as a series of battles, troop movements and political decisions. For us, it was primarily a set of crimes, atrocities and destruction, as well as opportunities for development that have been lost forever.”
‘Nazi Germany denied Poles right to live’
The Polish PM added: “Although it is hard to imagine today, three generations ago Nazi Germany denied Poles the right to live. It regarded us as a race of slaves on whom horrific crimes and experiments could be carried out with impunity.”
Morawiecki stressed that “During the six years [of World War II], more than 5.2 million citizens of my country were murdered, and the population was reduced by about 12 million. By the end of the war Poland had a completely ruined economy, destroyed industry, and its cities were razed to the ground.”
“And what happened to those who waged terror in Poland all this time?,” he asked.
“Often they became local elites in post-war West Germany and lived in affluence, avoiding any responsibility for the crimes they committed. Such as Heinz Reinefahrt, one of the executioners of the Warsaw Uprising, who after the war became mayor of the town of Westerland on the famous island of Sylt, and later became a member of the Landtag in Schleswig-Holstein,” Morawiecki noted.
He added: “Heinz Reinefarth is just one of countless examples of how World War II really ended; in great injustice. That’s right, the bloodiest war in world history was never fully called to account.”
‘Poland’s stolen future’
Referring to the newly-published report on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression, Morawiecki described it as “an account of Poland’s stolen future”, noting that “Germany has for many years taken the position that the subject of war reparations was settled long ago.”
He pointed out: “And yet it was only recently that Germany decided to compensate the Herero and Nama ethnic groups for the genocide in Namibia over a century ago. […] It doesn’t matter whether 10, 50 or 100 years have passed since the crimes. What matters is whether they have been truly accounted for.”
According to the Polish PM, “Any debate about reparations must also take into account these gestures by the German authorities. The victims of Germany’s totalitarian war machine deserve not only the same respect and remembrance as the victims of colonialism or terrorism.”
‘The path of truth’
Morawiecki stated that “The unimaginable scale of the destruction inflicted on Poland between 1939 and 1945 makes reparations for losses a process that stretches over years.”
He stressed: “It is impossible to look to the future without settling the truth about the past. We must and want to move on. But the only path that leads us forward is the path of truth.”
“I hope that this is the path we are embarking on. I hope that in this way we can close one of the darkest chapters in the history of Poland, Europe and the world,” the Polish PM concluded.
Poland estimates its WWII losses caused by Germany at EUR 1.3 trillion
Last Thursday, Poland published a report estimating the country’s World War II losses at the hands of Germany at EUR 1.3 trillion.
The leader of the country’s ruling conservatives Law and Justice, Jarosław Kaczyński, said that a decision had been made to raise the issue of World War II reparations with Berlin.
Kaczyński added: “It’s about securing compensation, maybe through a long and arduous process, for everything that Germany, the German state, the German nation, did to Poland between 1939 and 1945.”
(mk/pm)
