“We have ongoing talks, we discuss reparations with ministers of the German government and posts from the Bundestag,” says Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk in the weekly ‘Gość Niedzielny’. “This is a process of reaching out to the German establishment so that it understands that this is an absolute priority issue for the Polish government.”, he adds.
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Poland is in ongoing talks with German government officials and Bundestag representatives about reparations for damages incurred during World War II. Mularczyk stated that the Polish government is trying to make it clear to the German establishment that this issue is a top priority for them.
While there is no joint commission between the two countries for concrete talks about reparations, Mularczyk says that preliminary talks have begun. He believes that it will take a few more weeks, or possibly even months before Germany realizes that the issue must be resolved.
Mularczyk is set to visit Berlin on May 22nd to meet with members of parliament and representatives from all of the country’s political parties, as well as the heads of the foreign affairs and education committees of the Bundestag. He emphasized that Germany is testing Poland to see how important the issue is to them.
Rebuilding of the Saski Palace as part of reparations
The Polish government hopes that if concrete negotiations occur, they will be able to compensate surviving victims of the war and pay individual reparations.
“The generation that survived or was born during the war should receive the greatest gratification.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk claims.
When asked if Poland would accept the rebuilding of the Saski Palace as part of reparations, Mularczyk stated that he thinks it would be appropriate.
It is clear that the issue of reparations remains a sensitive one between Poland and Germany, and it will be interesting to see how negotiations progress in the coming weeks and months.