Report on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of the German agression and occupation during War War II in the years 1939-1945
01.09.2022
The “Report on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of the German aggression and occupation during World War II in the years 1939-1945”
Despite the passage of years since the end of World War II, it is still an open question how wealthy and strong the Polish state and its citizens would be if it had not been for the mass extermination of the population and the war destruction. The irretrievable loss of intellectual, cultural and economic potential has not yet been fully studied. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki participated in the presentation of the “Report on the losses suffered by Poland as a result of the German aggression and occupation during World War II in the years 1939-1945” at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Poland lost over 5 million of its citizens as a result of World War II. The team estimated the war damage at PLN 6 trillion, 220 billion and 609 million.
The report has been prepared by the Parliamentary Group for the estimation of the amount of compensation due to Poland from Germany for damage caused during World War II, who were assisted by experts of various disciplines of knowledge. It was written in the years 2017-2022.
Successive government administrations of Germany avoided the issue of reparations for Poland. It is now our duty to cry out for justice and compensation for the victims. Poland lost over 5 million of its citizens as a result of World War II. The team estimated the war damage at PLN 6 trillion 220, billion and 609 million.
“Today we are obliged to count these losses as accurately as possible. And, based on these calculations, present a bill to pay by those who are guilty of it,” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
German aggression against Poland
Germany’s aggression against Poland was the first, and an extremely brutal, campaign of World War II. The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg defined a number of categories of German crimes in 1946. These include the planning, starting and conducting a war of aggression, murders of prisoners of war and civilians, mass extermination in camps, show executions, slave labor, forced population displacement and deliberate demolition of cities, villages and settlements.
During World War II, Poland suffered the largest human and material losses of all European countries in relation to the total population and national wealth. It is difficult to find in the history of modern Europe an example of such a methodical and gigantic crime that has not been punished.
“The Second World War was not really judged in the right way. It was never presented in the right way from the point of view of losses and reparation of these losses.” reminded the Prime Minister.
Consequences of World War II for Poland
The destructive effects of World War II in the sphere of demography, economy, infrastructure, development of science, education and culture are felt by Poland and Poles to this day. Each year of war and occupation degraded the Polish state in all aspects of public, economic and social life. The Polish state today would be in a completely different place of civilizational development on the map of the world and Europe, if it were not for the effects of World War II.
“The whole economy, the whole Polish state, could not develop normally. We need to know this, because the loss of more than 5.2 million people is hard to imagine. After all, no one can ever compensate for such loss for families, their relatives. They cannot be brought back to life,” said the head of the Polish government.
Several generations of decimated Poles were condemned to a huge effort to rebuild the war damage and raise the country from the ruins. It must not be forgotten that many countries have already received compensation from Germany. Poland has never renounced the reparations that are due to us. War crimes are not subject to the statute of limitations. The Germans invaded Poland and did damage the effects of which continue to this day. We have the moral right to demand reparation for wrongs.
Read the “Report” which illustrates the scale of the Polish losses
