Polish president revives demand for reparations from Germany

Karol Nawrocki has insisted Poland needs “justice,” despite Prime Minister Donald Tusk having rescinded Warsaw’s request for compensation.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has renewed demands for reparations from Germany for Nazi-era devastation, insisting that they must be paid in the interests of “justice and truth.”

The reparations question has long strained Polish-German relations. The previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, in office from 2015 to 2023, demanded that Germany pay 6.2 trillion Polish zloty (around $1.5 trillion) for damage under Nazi occupation.

That claim was then dropped by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said Warsaw would no longer be seeking payments and would instead focus on improving relations with Berlin. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has suggested Berlin could “offer a creative decision” on how to account for Nazi crimes in a different way.

Nawrocki, however, used a speech on Monday at a ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the start of World War II to press Berlin once more. “Poland, as a frontline state, as the most important country on the eastern flank of NATO, needs justice and truth and clear relations with Germany, but we also need reparations from the German state,” he said at the Westerplatte memorial.

“In order to build a partnership built on truth and good relations, we must deal with the issue of reparations from the German state which, as Polish president, I unequivocally demand, for the common good,” he added. Nawrocki said he hopes Tusk and the government will back the demands.

Tusk, however, stated at the same ceremony that Poland must “understand who is our enemy” and cited the supposed threat from Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied harboring any hostile intent towards the West, calling such claims “nonsense” meant to justify inflated military budgets.

Berlin has acknowledged responsibility for Nazi crimes but has refused to reopen reparations, arguing Poland waived its rights in 1953 in an agreement with East Germany and that the 1990 treaty on German reunification settled the matter.

Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 marked the start of World War II in Europe. The occupation lasted until 1945, when Soviet and local forces liberated the country. Poland lost around 6 million citizens during the conflict.