Polish leader renews demand for reparations from Germany

(MENAFN) Polish President Karol Nawrocki has reignited calls for Germany to pay reparations for the destruction caused during the Nazi occupation in World War II, framing the demand as a matter of “justice and truth.”

Speaking on Monday at a ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the war’s outbreak, Nawrocki emphasized the need for compensation to build honest and transparent relations between Poland and Germany. “As a frontline NATO country on the eastern flank, Poland needs justice and truth — and that includes reparations from the German state,” he said at the Westerplatte memorial. He urged Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the current government to support the effort.

The previous Law and Justice (PiS) administration, in power from 2015 to 2023, had demanded 6.2 trillion zloty (about $1.5 trillion) in damages from Germany. However, Tusk’s government later dropped the claim, choosing instead to prioritize diplomatic ties with Berlin. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has suggested that Germany could find a “creative” alternative to address historical accountability.

At the same event, Tusk focused on what he described as the real threat facing Poland — Russia — and called for national unity. Russia has consistently denied having hostile intentions toward the West, dismissing such accusations as efforts to justify rising military expenditures.

Germany has acknowledged its historical responsibility for Nazi crimes but has rejected reopening the reparations issue. Berlin argues that Poland forfeited any such claims in 1953 through an agreement with East Germany and that the 1990 reunification treaty definitively settled the matter.

Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, sparking World War II in Europe. The occupation lasted until 1945, during which an estimated 6 million Polish citizens were killed.

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