Poland demands Germany pay war reparations for WWII as EU unity splinters
A Polish political party is demanded that Germany pays war reparations for World War Two as compensation for its 'murderous devastation'
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A Polish political party is demanded that Germany pays war reparations for World War Two as compensation for its "murderous devastation".
During the second world war, almost six million Polish people were killed as many call for Germany to "pay up".
The Law and Justice Party, PiS have been calling for reparations since first taking power in 2015.
As the October 15 parliamentary election looms, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk, a member of PiS, has written to 3,000 town councils and local authorities urging them to pass resolutions backing the call for German reparations.
Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk, a member of PiS, has written to 3,000 town councils and local authorities urging them to pass resolutions backing the call for German reparations
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One grandmother and retired shop worker from a village near Lublin in eastern Poland claims she votes for the party because she believes Germany should pay.
“Germany should pay up,” 64-year-old Agnieszka Majewska told Politico.
“It is one of the reasons I’ll vote again for PiS."
A recent poll suggests PiS will emerge as the largest party, but will fail to secure a majority in the Sejm - the lower house of Poland’s parliament.
Therefore the party would likely need the help of the extreme-right Confederation party to form a government.
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The PiS government demanded reparations from Germany for up to $1.3 trillion in compensation for the destruction caused by the Nazi occupation.
However, Berlin insists that all financial claims in relation to the war have been settled.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that while it is post-war Germany’s “eternal duty to remember the suffering Germany brutally inflicted upon millions of Polish people… the issue of reparations is, as you know, closed”.
PiS officials say the 1953 agreement cited by Berlin isn’t valid as it came about because of Soviet pressure on Warsaw.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that while it is post-war Germany’s 'eternal duty to remember the suffering Germany brutally inflicted upon millions of Polish people… the issue of reparations is, as you know, closed'
Reuters
However some argue that addressing the issue might not have the impact PiS expects.
Despite the fact that “a major part of the Polish population believes Germany owes Poland,” and last year polling showed 52 per cent of Poles support reparations, Marta Prochwicz–Jazowska of the German Marshal Fund isn’t so sure it will have significant impact on the election.
The topic “will not determine voter preferences in the same way as security and defense, the war in Ukraine, the economy and social policies,” she said.