Polish President Andrzej Duda has again demanded compensation from Germany for the damage suffered during the Second World War. “Forgiveness and acknowledgment of guilt are one thing, making amends for the damage is another,” he said at the commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the German invasion of Poland in Wieluń. “And this question has still not been resolved, and has been for 80 years, if you count the period of the Second World War.”
The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 is considered the beginning of the Second World WarEven before the bombardment of Westerplatte near Gdansk, the small town of Wieluń, near the then German-Polish border, was bombed by the German Air Force. It is estimated that 1,200 civilians were killed in this attack alone. During the entire Second World War, it is estimated that up to six million people were killed in Poland, and the capital Warsaw was completely destroyed.
1.3 billion euros in reparations
President Duda belongs to the national conservative PiS, which Poland governed from 2015 to 2023. His party has made reparations demands of 1.3 billion euros to Germany.
The current pro-European government of Donald Tusk did not repeat this demand. At the German-Polish government consultations in early July with the centre-left government of Donald Tusk, which has been in office since December 2023, Compensation but also a topic. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced at the time that aid would be provided for surviving victims of the German occupation in Poland. He did not provide any concrete figures.
“Never again loneliness”
Tusk This Sunday on the Westerplatte near Gdansk, the events of the early morning hours of 1 September 1939 are remembered. The German military ship SMS Schleswig-Holstein At 4:45 a.m. the shelling of the peninsula in front of the port of Gdansk began. The Polish army had an ammunition depot there, which was built like a fortress from the war.
Today, war is coming from the east, said Tusk, referring to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. “Today we are not saying: 'Never again war.' Today we must say: 'Never again loneliness.'” It must never happen again in history that Poland faces the aggression of one or another neighbor alone. That is why Poland modernized its army and relied on the EU and NATO.
“Our German-Polish friendship is supported by all Poles who retain the strength to be human for one another. It is our responsibility and duty to live our friendship in the heart of Europe out of an awareness of our past,” wrote Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) on X.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has again demanded compensation from Germany for the damage suffered during the Second World War. “Forgiveness and acknowledgment of guilt are one thing, making amends for the damage is another,” he said at the commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the German invasion of Poland in Wieluń. “And this question has still not been resolved, and has been for 80 years, if you count the period of the Second World War.”
The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 is considered the beginning of the Second World WarEven before the bombardment of Westerplatte near Gdansk, the small town of Wieluń, near the then German-Polish border, was bombed by the German Air Force. It is estimated that 1,200 civilians were killed in this attack alone. During the entire Second World War, it is estimated that up to six million people were killed in Poland, and the capital Warsaw was completely destroyed.
