Polish President Andrzej Duda, speaking at an event on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the entry of the Wehrmacht into Poland, again demanded reparations from Germany for the damage caused during the Second World War, DPA reported, quoted by BTA .
„Forgiveness and acknowledgment of guilt are one thing, reparations for damages are another. And this issue has not yet been resolved”, Duda said in the small Polish town of Velun, which was once located near the German-Polish border.
The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 is considered the beginning of World War II.
Duda comes from the nationalist and conservative Law and Justice party, which ruled the country between 2015 and 2023. During that period, the PiS government soured relations with Berlin over anti-German remarks and demands for reparations of 1.3 trillion euros.
However, the current centre-left government of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in power since December, has also not ruled out the issue of World War II reparations.
At the German-Polish government consultations in early July, Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered aid to the surviving victims of the German occupation in Poland, but did not specify specific amounts.
Meanwhile, Tusk recalled the events off Gdansk in the early hours of September 1, 1939, when the German warship “Schleswig-Holstein“ enters the then-called city of Danzig. The vessel's visit was planned as a friendly one, but Germany began shelling the Westerplatte peninsula off Gdansk harbor at 4:45 am. The Polish army maintains a fortified ammunition depot there.
"Today the war comes from the east," Tusk said, referring to Russia's war against Ukraine. “Today we do not say: 'Never more war'. Today we must say: 'Never again should we be left alone. Never again in its history should Poland stand alone against the aggression of one or another of its neighbors,“ he added.
German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock emphasized the reconciliation between Germans and Poles in recent decades on the social network "X". “Our German-Polish friendship is supported by all Poles who have retained the strength to be human for each other. It is our responsibility and duty to live out our friendship in the heart of Europe, realizing our past,” she stated.