The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Dispute over reparation payments to Poland: »Germany treats Poland like a vassal«

2023-01-03T18:58:39.157Z


1.3 trillion euros for damage caused in the Second World War? Germany sees no reason for this - and apparently gave the Polish government a formal rejection. Warsaw reacted with outrage.


Enlarge image

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock with her Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau in October in Warsaw

Photo:

Wojtek Radwanski / AFP

Poland and Germany have long been at odds over reparation payments.

Warsaw wants Berlin to pay for the destruction caused by Germans in World War II.

Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister is now making serious accusations against the traffic light coalition.

"Germany does not pursue a friendly policy towards Poland, they want to expand their sphere of influence here and treat Poland like a vassal," Arkadiusz Mularczyk told the Polish Press Agency.

The refusal to negotiate the payments demanded by his government shows an absolutely disrespectful attitude towards Poland and the Polish people.

The dialogue with Germany on this question will be continued “via international organizations”.

According to its own statements, Poland has received a formal rejection from the federal government.

"According to the German government, the issue of reparations and compensation for war losses remains closed and it does not intend to enter into negotiations," the Polish Foreign Ministry said after receiving an official reply from Berlin.

At the beginning of September, Poland's ruling nationalist party PiS demanded the equivalent of 1.3 trillion euros from Germany to pay for the damage caused by the war.

Germany sees no legal basis for the claims.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, on the other hand, declared in October that the reparations issue had been settled.

A spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office confirmed to the AFP news agency that the federal government had "answered Poland's note verbale of October 3, 2022".

However, he did not provide any information about the content of the letter.

The federal government points out that the communist Polish leadership had declared in 1953 that it would refrain from German reparations.

Poland's national-conservative government, however, has challenged the validity of the relevant agreement, arguing that Warsaw acted under pressure from the Soviet Union at the time.

sak/AFP/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-01-03

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.