On the 83rd anniversary of the German invasion of Poland, an event that started World War II on European soil, Poland is demanding that Germany pay it 1.3 trillion euros (6.2 trillion zlotys) in compensation for damages caused to Poland with the German invasion and during the German occupation between 1939 and 1945.
The detailed amount of reparations was determined by a committee of 30 economists, historians and experts in other fields, who over the course of five years worked on a detailed report calculating the entirety of the damages caused to Poland in WWII.
The leader of the conservative ruling party in Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, stated after the main points of the report were published that it was his country's duty to demand these reparations from the Germans.
"We know we are embarking on a long and difficult path," Kaczynski said, "but you have to think that history changes and sometimes things happen faster than expected.
Although the road will be long, we are sure we will succeed.'
The extermination camp Auschwitz, on the soil of Poland // Photo: AP,
The Polish demand is expected to rekindle severe tensions between Warsaw and Berlin, which in the past rejected compensation demands from Poland on the basis of the claim that this issue was resolved by agreements signed between the countries in previous years.
The Polish demand could open a huge wave of lawsuits
In 1953, communist Poland, under pressure from the USSR, gave up reparations demands from East Germany.
The Russians made sure that the reparations would reach them and help build the economy of the USSR.
Poland's current government insists that the waiver of reparations at the time was illegal, since the communist government of Poland was illegal.
Other countries also have open financial claims for war damages from Germany - including Greece, former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states.
The Polish demand could open a huge wave of lawsuits at a time when the German economy is dealing with the consequences of the Ukraine war.
Poland, by the way, will also demand reparations from Russia, which invaded its territory on September 17, 1939 and occupied a large part of Poland until the summer of 1941.
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