Letters on the subject have been sent to President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova, and Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.

The letter was appended with the English version of the Report on losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II 1939-1945.

The aim of the campaign launched across European Union’s institutions is to highlight the fact that Poland was the only country that has never received compensation from the post-war German state, Third Reich’s legal successor, and to make political elites and senior officials aware of this fact.

The Government Plenipotentiary recalled that our country was promised reparations from the eastern occupation zone, while western allies were to act as intermediaries in collecting reparations for the other countries fighting the war against the Third Reich. This issue has never been settled. It was confirmed by the resolution of the Council of Ministers of 18 April 2023, which definitely erased any doubts regarding this issue. The Polish government’s document formally certifies that the issue of reparations, compensation for material and non-material damage or other forms of redress for losses suffered by Poland and Poles during the World War II was never closed in any way, neither during the communist period, nor after regaining sovereignty.

This asymmetrical treatment of Poland after the Potsdam Conference must be debated both in the EP and in other EU institutions. It is a prerequisite of an elementary sense of justice towards the millions of Polish victims and in view of the billions in human, material and cultural assets lost as a result of German aggression and occupation. The consequences of that injustice have been affecting us till this day. Europe must know it.

After WWII, the citizens of Western states, the US, and Israel had the possibility to seek redress before their own courts. For Poles, this path was closed during the socialist period. While after 1989, Germany has been hiding behind a jurisdiction immunity. A series of academic conferences with Polish and foreign experts on the legality of Germany’s jurisdiction immunity will be held in the near future on the initiative of Deputy Minister Mularczyk. The first will be held in Athens on 13 June. As the result of the legal solutions adopted by Germany, there was a striking asymmetry in the compensation of individuals after the war. The Polish government will not allow our citizens to be treated worse than others.

In his letters to European politicians, Minister Mularczyk pointed out that the Polish claims against Germany have a universal context in addition to a moral and financial dimension. The basis for the post-war global order is the supremacy of international law over military power. Germany's failure to take action by compensating Poland has its implications for the international order. The need to compensate the victims of Russian aggression against Ukraine is unquestionable, just as Poland's right to compensation from the German state is unquestionable. 

As a reminder, the total amount of compensation claimed by Poland amounts to 6 trillion 220 billion 609 million Polish zlotys or 1 trillion 352 billion 483 million euro. This is about 125% of the total EU budget for 2021-2027. Poland will persistently inform Europe that the German state has not fulfilled its reparation obligation to Poland, while it did pay reparation benefits of tens of billions of euros to other people and countries. Most of the amount paid out by the German government went to Germany itself, and Israel.

 

MFA Press Office