Poland rebuilding relations with Germany but still seeking reparation

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski urged Germany to make proposals on how to make reparation for the damage Poland suffered during World War II in a keynote speech to parliament in Warsaw on Thursday.

"There is no shortage of ideas," Sikorski, a key member of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government, which has pledged to repair relations with its powerful western neighbour following strains between the two countries under Poland's previous government.

Germany could provide financial support to Polish survivors of German occupation between 1939 and 1945, contribute to rebuilding historical buildings destroyed, or promote Polish language teaching and knowledge of Polish history in Germany more, he said.

German investment in the security of Poland and the entire region was key, Sikorski said. "That would be an expression of the fact that the errors of the past have been understood and that the challenges of the future are being faced."

In mid-December, the Tusk government took over from the national conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which took a harder line on policy towards Germany and demanded reparations totalling €1.3 trillion ($1.4 trillion). The German government rejected the demand.

Sikorski emphasized that the new government was repairing relations with Germany and was banking on dialogue. "Germany and France are our most important partners in the European Union," he said.

The German attack on Poland in September 1939 launched World War II. Deaths caused in Poland are seen as the highest in proportional terms. According to a 2022 report to the PiS government, more than 5.2 million people died in Poland, and more than 2.1 million people were deported to perform forced labour.