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🇵🇱 Poland /Elections & Politics

Poll Shows Poles Back Pursuing World War II Reparations From Germany

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • President Karol Nawrocki has renewed calls for Germany to pay Poland reparations and compensation for World War II losses.
  • Nawrocki says the funds could support Poland’s armed forces and defense industry, while Germany considers the issue closed.
  • The article discusses the disputed legal and political history of Poland’s 1953 renunciation of reparations and the Law and Justice party’s renewed campaign on the issue.

President Karol Nawrocki has again placed German war reparations at the center of Poland’s political debate, calling on the government to work with him to pursue compensation. He made the appeal in a speech at Westerplatte marking the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

This is the responsibility and task of the Polish president and the Polish government.

· Karol NawrockiNawrocki called on Poland’s leadership to pursue reparations from Germany.

Nawrocki argued that reparations should serve not only historical justice but also Poland’s future security. He said Germany should provide compensation that Poland could direct toward its armed forces and defense industry, reducing the need to take out Western loans. He also urged Germany to “settle the issue of reparations and compensation.”

The president said reparations could “serve European security and be a firm declaration by German society that we are thinking about joint security in Europe.” He had presented a similar proposal in September 2025, shortly after taking office. After meeting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Nawrocki said the German side had rejected the demand and Steinmeier had called the matter “definitively closed.” Nawrocki nevertheless maintained that its legal aspects had not been settled.

Reparations and compensation for Poland should be paid.

· Karol NawrockiHe argued that Germany should compensate Poland for World War II losses.

Germany has repeatedly said that the question was resolved by Poland’s 1953 declaration renouncing reparations. Poland’s government under Prime Minister Marek Belka confirmed that position in 2004. The issue returned to political prominence under Law and Justice in 2017, when the party assessed the reparations claim at more than 6 trillion zlotys.

settle the issue of reparations and compensation

· Karol NawrockiHis appeal to the German authorities during his Westerplatte speech.

Supporters of the claim argue that Poland was not sovereign in 1953 and acted under Soviet pressure. In 2019, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the declaration as an agreement between Poland and East Germany that his government did not recognize. Nawrocki has similarly said Poland could not have renounced reparations because it was “a colony of the Soviet Union.”

serve European security and be a firm declaration by German society that we are thinking about joint security in Europe

· Karol NawrockiHe described how reparations could be used to support European security.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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