(MENAFN) A decades-old historical wound reopened Tuesday as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk clashed over World War II compensation claims during high-stakes talks.

Tusk pressed Germany to acknowledge Poland's right to wartime reparations, a demand Merz swiftly rejected, deepening tensions between the two European Union powers.

During a tense joint press briefing, Tusk challenged Berlin's legal position, asserting that "Germany is adhering to the formal diplomatic agreement from the 1950s" while emphasizing that "those who know history know that... Poland had no say in the matter."

He continued: "The renunciation of reparations by the Poles at that time is not seen as an act in accordance with the will of the Polish nation."

Tusk's comments targeted Germany's longstanding stance that Poland surrendered reparations rights through a 1953 pact with East Germany, with the 1990 reunification treaty resolving outstanding claims. While Berlin accepts culpability for Nazi atrocities, it refuses to revisit the compensation question.

Standing beside Tusk, Merz struck a conciliatory but firm tone: "We must keep memories alive, even painful ones. I hope that we can do this in a way that does not divide us, but brings us closer together."

The reparations dispute has poisoned Polish-German relations for years. Poland's former Law and Justice (PiS) administration, which governed from 2015 to 2023, demanded Germany pay 6.2 trillion Polish zloty (€1.3 trillion) for damages inflicted during Nazi occupation. Tusk had signaled earlier this year that Warsaw would abandon these demands. However, when Karol Nawrocki, a PiS-supported candidate, secured the presidency, he immediately revived the claim.

Relations between the neighboring EU members had deteriorated under former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Beyond reparations, the nations have sparred over migration policy and other matters as Poland pursues greater influence within the bloc.

Tusk emphasized the urgency by noting that since his last discussion with German leadership on this issue, 10,000 fewer eligible survivors remain alive to receive potential compensation.

In response, Merz announced Germany would construct a Berlin memorial dedicated to Polish victims of Nazi Germany, committed to returning stolen cultural treasures to Poland, and promised Berlin would examine additional support mechanisms for Polish survivors of Nazi brutality.

Germany's 1939 invasion of Poland ignited World War II. The nation endured Nazi occupation until 1945, when the Soviet Army and local resistance forces achieved liberation. Approximately six million Polish citizens perished during the conflict.

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