Poland in the UN

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 will be sent to the above listed bodies on 3 January 2023. At the same time, Poland will launch an information campaign among the UN member states on the said Report and on losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II.

Deputy Minister Mularczyk noted that the United Nations is the first common inter-state international organization of general competence, whose charter includes wide powers in the economic, social, and human rights areas. In his letters to the UN representatives, he recalled the enormity of material and non-material losses which Poland suffered from Germany during its aggression against and occupation of Poland in 1939-1945. Due to state immunity invoked by Germany, the legal path remains closed for the victims of war and their heirs who want to seek redress from the German state. 

Secretary of State at the Polish MFA underlined the need to use the instruments provided by the United Nations system to start dialogue and to present to the international community the enormous damage inflicted by the German occupant in 1939-1945.  He noted that the German state has not compensated for the losses in a systemic manner.

During the press conference, Deputy Minister Mularczyk pointed out that – besides an important financial aspect – Poland’s claims towards Germany have a universal context. The basis for the post-war global order is the supremacy of international law over military power. Lack of reaction to the evil committed by Germany against Poland and its citizens will backfire in the form of evil done by countries breaching the international order, the foundations for which were laid in the Declaration by the United Nations signed 81 years ago, on 1 January 1942. It is worth recalling now that Poland has been the 51st founding member of the UN since 1945 and attaches great importance to the supremacy of international law over military power.

Poland counts on the German government to properly react to Polish proposals. The Federal Republic of Germany, a member of the UN since 1973, should take systemic actions to compensate losses suffered by Poland from Germany. We hope for a debate on the UN level in order to draw attention of the international community to this problem, unresolved since the end of the war. Poland also hopes for meaningful support of the UN Secretary-General, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the Human Rights Council in Geneva and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva in the process of obtaining compensation for losses caused by the German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945.

This is another proposal by the Government Plenipotentiary for Compensation for Damage Caused by German Aggression and Occupation in 1939-1945, which follows up on the efforts of the Polish government initiated by the preparation of the report on war losses. 

It should be stressed at this point that, on 21 December 2022, the Permanent Representative of Poland to UNESCO met Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. During the meeting, she was handed an original letter addressed to her by the Government Plenipotentiary for Compensation for Damage Caused by German Aggression and Occupation in 1939-1945 and a copy of the Report on losses suffered by Poland as a result of German aggression and occupation during World War II 1939-1945.  

The report is available here.

Łukasz Jasina
MFA Spokesperson

Photo: MFA