“The desire to be the main partner”: why Poland asks the United States for help in obtaining $ 1.3 trillion in reparations from Germany

The Polish authorities turned to the US Congress with a request to assist in obtaining reparations from Germany for the damage caused to the country during World War II.

This was announced during a briefing by Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Arkadiusz Mulyarchik.

“Today we are addressing the US Congress.

We believe that the United States is a key country when it comes to upholding international order, human rights, the rule of law, international justice.

We count on the support of our partners from the United States, American legislators in obtaining compensation for Poland for the consequences of the Second World War, ”TASS quoted Mulyarchik as saying.

At the same time, a representative of the country's Foreign Ministry said that earlier, with a similar request, the Polish Foreign Ministry addressed the UN, the Council of Europe, UNESCO, NATO and the EU.

At the closed door 

Recall that on September 1, 2022, the Polish authorities presented a report on the losses incurred by the country as a result of the German attack and occupation from 1939 to 1945.

The damage caused to Poland was estimated by the authorities of the republic at 6.2 trillion zlotys (about $1.3 trillion).

The leader of the Polish ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, then said that Warsaw would demand this amount from Berlin as reparations.

On the same day, the German Foreign Ministry announced that the position of the German side on this issue had not changed: Berlin considers the issue of reparations closed.

“The position of the federal government is unchanged, the issue of reparations is closed.

Poland refused further reparations long ago, in 1953, and repeatedly confirmed this refusal.

This is a necessary basis for today's European order," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti.

• Olaf Scholz

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• © Markus Schreiber

Later, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed a similar position in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

“Like all (representatives. -

) of the previous federal authorities, I can note that this issue was finally resolved in accordance with international law,” said the head of the German government.

However, Warsaw does not agree with Germany's position.

Commenting on the words of Scholz, Arkadiusz Mulyarchik noted that "Poland and Germany have never entered into any bilateral agreements, peace treaties or agreements on liquidation as a result of the Second World War."

“War crimes have no statute of limitations, and no matter how much time passes, they can be compensated,” said Mulyarchik, who led the panel that prepared the report on reparations.

Despite Berlin's statements, Warsaw did not back down from its intention to achieve reparation payments, continuing diplomatic pressure on its neighbor.

In early October 2022, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau signed a note demanding compensation, which was handed over to the German Foreign Ministry.

On January 3, 2023, the Polish Foreign Ministry announced that it had received a note from Germany stating that Berlin had no intentions to negotiate with Warsaw on this issue.

In response, Arkadiusz Mulyarchik accused the FRG of disrespect for Poland and the Poles.

“Germany is not pursuing a friendly policy towards Poland.

They want to expand their influence here and treat Poland as a vassal,” said a Polish official.

Historical claims 

It is worth noting that the Polish side has been discussing the issue of reparations for several years.

At the same time, each time Warsaw increases the amount of compensation that, in its opinion, Berlin must pay.

So, in 2017, the commission of the Polish Sejm estimated the damage caused to the country at 258 billion pre-war zlotys ($48.8 billion).

In March 2018, this amount increased tenfold and amounted to $850 billion. However, soon the Polish authorities reduced reparation claims by $300 billion, while promising to recalculate the required compensation later.

Now Poland wants $1.3 trillion.

Historians note that Germany during the Second World War really caused serious damage to Poland.

According to various estimates, the number of victims among the citizens of the country amounted to 6 million, while the population of the Polish Republic in 1939 was about 34 million people.

• Warsaw ghetto

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• © file

Today, the position of Germany is that in 1953 Poland officially refused reparations, but part of the German territories was taken away in favor of the Polish side.

However, Warsaw claims that the 1953 agreement was allegedly signed under pressure from the USSR and concluded between the GDR and the Polish People's Republic - countries that do not currently exist.

In an interview with RT, RISS expert Oleg Nemensky noted that in the matter of receiving reparations, Poland is counting on its status as the main US ally in Europe, which is why it is turning to the United States Congress.

“Poland has prepared a rather serious system of substantiating its claims, and Germany will not be able to dismiss them so easily.

At the same time, we now see that Poland is Washington's priority ally in Europe: relations between Warsaw and Washington are indeed quite close, which cannot be said about relations between Germany and the United States.

America may respond positively to a request for help with reparations.

Washington is frankly working to reduce the importance of the role of Germany and undermine the German economy, including through the imposed severance of economic relations with Russia, ”the expert explained.

However, despite the fact that Germany did cause significant damage to Poland during World War II, this issue should have been resolved in the near future, Oleg Nemensky believes.

“Reparations are usually paid after the war to restore the economy as a result of the destruction.

Now they are already being demanded by a generation of people who, for the most part, did not live in the post-war period and do not remember the war.

From a moral point of view, this is a very controversial situation, since it is quite realistic to accuse the current Polish generations of wanting to cash in on the grief of their ancestors,” the expert believes.

In turn, political scientist Yuri Bondarenko believes that the main motivator for Warsaw in paying reparations is the desire to weaken Germany, and not to achieve historical justice.

“With the same success, they could bill, for example, 13 trillion.

Behind the Polish claims is obviously the desire to be the main partner of the United States in Europe.

For this, it is necessary that an ax be raised over Germany and the German economy in the form of huge reparations.

Poland is trying to put the German government in the position of crooks who do not pay money for the destruction of their country and the Polish economy, ”the expert noted.

At the same time, at one time Poland fought with Germany in the same way for the favor of the Soviet Union, Yuri Bondarenko recalled.

“Fifty years ago, the Polish People's Republic fought for the place of the best friend of the Soviet Union in order to overtake the German Democratic Republic.

Under this case, they even built an unthinkable embassy in Moscow to be "the best friend."

Now the roles have changed: instead of the USSR - the USA.

Now the Poles are proving their devotion to the idea to America, ”the political scientist emphasized.

At the same time, Warsaw manipulates the numbers, including in its data on the number of dead victims of the Holocaust, in which Poland itself was involved, Bondarenko said.

“These were Polish citizens, but not ethnic Poles, but Jews.

They were deprived of property, real estate, all personal belongings and valuables.

Then they were put in concentration camps on the territory of Poland, killed.

What prevented Germany from placing camps on the territory of its subjects: the Czech Republic or fascist Slovakia, for example?

Or in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union?

Nothing.

But they placed them in Poland, because they knew that they would be assisted there,” the expert said.

Historical revisionism and the demand to recognize oneself as the injured party became the basis of Poland's national policy, Yury Bondarenko added.

“If in our country the foundation of the foundations of ideology is “we are the victorious people,” then in Poland it is “we are an unhappy people, everyone owes us”: the Soviet Union, Russia, and Germany all owe, ”concluded the interlocutor of RT.