Germany should take Poland seriously with its demand for reparations following World War II. This opinion was expressed by columnist Philip Boyce on Sunday, February 19, in an article for the newspaper Politico.
Beuys pointed out that the Polish government has recently been increasingly claiming a $1.3 trillion debt from Berlin for damages done to Poles during World War II. The German leadership, he said, ignores these demands, saying it considers the matter closed. This is legally “maybe true”, but morally “Germany still has to”, the author believes.
“Ignoring Poland’s demands may be legally correct, but morally Germany still has debts to pay,” Beuys wrote.
According to the observer, the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “must take into account the discontent of the Poles” if it wants to prevent “an even greater split in the heart of Europe.”
On January 26, Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mulyarchik announced that Poland would initiate a resolution in the Council of Europe for Berlin to pay compensation for damage caused during World War II. He noted that the draft resolution concerns the study of Warsaw’s eligibility to receive compensation from the FRG. According to Mulyarchik, the draft was signed by 35 parliamentarians from 11 countries of the Council of Europe.
He noted that after considering the resolution, Warsaw expects a final report calling on the FRG to change legislation and pay reparations.
The day before, the Minister of the Polish Government for European Affairs, Szymon Szynkowski vel Senk, admitted that the issue of reparations from the FRG for the damage caused during World War II would be discussed for several more generations.
At the same time, in early January, a note came to the Polish Foreign Ministry stating that Berlin officially refused to discuss with Warsaw compensation for damage caused during the Second World War.
The Polish authorities are demanding 6.2 trillion zlotys (about $1.3 trillion) from Germany in reparations.
