diplomacy
Baerbock rejects Polish claims for reparations
Zbigniew Rau, Foreign Minister of Poland, receives Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for bilateral talks at the Polish Foreign Ministry. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
A delicate visit for the Federal Foreign Minister: the meeting with her counterpart Zbigniew Rau, in addition to aid to Ukraine, also discussed Poland’s demands for reparations.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has once again rejected Polish demands for reparations in the trillions for damage and casualties during World War II, which was triggered by Nazi Germany.
From the federal government’s point of view, the question of reparations is closed, said the Green politician on Tuesday after consultations with her Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau in Warsaw. At the same time, Baerbock emphasized: “Germany stands by its historical responsibility without ifs or buts.”
Rau emphasized the joint responsibility of Poland and Germany towards past, present and future generations. “I am therefore convinced that the position of the German government on this issue will continue to develop as a result of the dialogue.” If only because no one in Germany or Poland can refer to a moral system or a legal order “in which the perpetrator of a crime was authorized to independently and solely determine the extent of his guilt, but also the extent and duration of his responsibility”. .
Shortly before Baerbock’s visit, Poland’s PiS government had reiterated its demands for reparations from Germany: Rau signed a diplomatic note to be handed over to Berlin. On the 83rd anniversary of the start of the Second World War on September 1st, a parliamentary commission in Warsaw presented a report in which the damage caused by the World War in Poland was estimated at more than 1.3 trillion euros. On Tuesday, Rau again did not name a specific amount that could be included in the diplomatic note.