Poland's newly elected president, Karol Nawrocki, during his first official visit in Berlin, demanded compensation from Germany for the significant material and moral damages inflicted on the country during World War II. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier firmly rejected this demand. Additionally, the Polish leader raised this issue during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, but the chancellor emphasized that Berlin's position remains unchanged.
At the end of the negotiations, the usual joint press conference was not held, which was negatively received by German journalists and sparked various discussions. In a statement on social media, President Nawrocki said that the issue of reparations has not been resolved and that negotiations with Germany will continue in the future.
The official Warsaw demands reparations amounting to 1.3 trillion euros from Berlin. This figure is based on thorough scientific analyses.
In 2023, the Polish parliament established a special commission to demand reparations from Germany and Russia for war damages. According to a report published in 2022, Poland suffered damages worth 6.2 trillion zlotys (approximately 1.3 trillion euros) due to the Nazi attack and occupation from 1939 to 1945.
Berlin, however, offers security guarantees to Poland instead of reparations. According to Knut Abraham, the German government's representative for Polish affairs, Berlin will not pay reparations but is ready to ensure Warsaw's security.
The German side also presents its arguments: in 1953, the Polish parliament recognized that the Federal Republic of Germany had fulfilled its obligations regarding war damage compensation. Furthermore, based on a good neighborliness treaty signed between the two countries in 1991, Poland received 1.3 billion euros.
Previously, some Polish politicians have raised the issue of reparations. For example, Deputy Janusz Szewczak estimated the damage amount at 900 billion dollars and criticized the government for not making demands.
According to the Polish government's plans, once the reparations issue with Germany is resolved, Warsaw may make the same demand from Russia. When initial reports about this appeared in 2023, Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova warned Poland about the severe consequences of such a demand.
Thus, the issue of reparations remains one of the most complex and contentious topics in Polish-German relations.
