Poland considers Germany's WWII reparations position 'wrong'
Poland's deputy foreign minister says his country considers Germany's refusal to compensate Warsaw for Nazi-era damage to be unfounded and wrong.
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Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk (Polish Government)
Poland said Wednesday it rejected Germany's refusal to compensate Warsaw for World War II damages dealt to the country during the Nazi era.
"We do not accept Germany's position. We reject it in its entirety and treat it as unfounded and wrong," said the Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk.
Earlier on Tuesday, Germany officially rejected Poland's World War II compensation claim estimated to be 1.3 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion), the Polish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The lower chamber of Poland's parliament voted last September to demand Germany pay $1.3 trillion in reparations for damages sustained during the Nazi era.
Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party has championed the issue and evoked Berlin's "moral duty" since coming to power in 2015.
A 2019 estimate indicated the apparent cost of the Nazi occupation at $850 billion, but research commissioned by the party and released in September increased the figure to 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.32 trillion).
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Mularczyk described Berlin's response as "surprising", adding that "Germany cannot close the subject that had never been opened before."
The Polish government "does not see any willingness or desire to compensate for the losses," he said, noting that Warsaw would send a written response to Berlin.
On Tuesday, Poland said it had called on the United Nations for backup in working on receiving war reparations.
According to the Polish foreign ministry, Warsaw called on the UN "to cooperate and support Poland's efforts to receive reparations for the losses suffered during German occupation in 1939-1945".
During a visit to Warsaw in October, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected the demand, saying it was a closed chapter for Berlin.
However, Poland's newly assigned ambassador to Germany Dariusz Pawlos said last month that his country does not consider the case closed.
Germany has contended that Poland relinquished its right to reparations in agreements signed with East Germany in 1953 by its socialist government and in agreements reached with the USSR, US, UK, and France in 1990 by East and West Germany.
Poland responded by claiming that the 1953 pact was made under Soviet pressure and that it was not a party to the 1990 negotiations.
