Former head of the Pilecki Institute Krzysztof Ruchniewicz and Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski appeared in a documentary in which the Germans put forward the thesis that reparations for crimes committed against Poles during World War II could take the form of… providing Poland with security in the present day. “This part of the film shows how Germany’s military and political dominance over Poland will be disguised not only as something supposedly noble, but also as something allegedly desired by Poland and Poles,” commented TV Republika’s program director Michał Rachoń.
“The European TV channel Arte presented a documentary about the mechanisms that contributed to Germany’s postwar power, including those that allowed them to avoid paying reparations. The narrative at the end of the film returns to the issue of Poland,” wrote Krzysztof Puternicki on X.com, publishing a clip from the recording. The film shocks with what Polish representatives said in it.
“This is about symbolic value. During World War II, churches, libraries, and entire universities were destroyed. How can one measure such symbolic value? It’s impossible. You might offer me one billion euros, and I would agree with you. You might offer me ten billion, and I would still agree. It’s immeasurable,” says Krzysztof Ruchniewicz in the recording, the former director of the Pilecki Institute, whose activities caused such enormous controversy that they eventually led to his resignation amid scandal.
As if that were not enough, the film also features Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski. “The issue of reparations belongs to the past; what we are talking about here is moral compensation,” he says.
And Ruchniewicz adds, “We are thus moving from history, through education, to the future of Polish-German relations. This package also includes a third point: the German contribution to Poland’s security and defense policy. That is probably what interests us most at the moment, especially in light of the double war beyond our eastern border.”
And the German conclusion – “Providing Poland with security in unstable times – that would be true compensation,” the narrator concludes.
Germany providing Poland with security… as reparations for World War II. “This part of the film shows how Germany’s military and political dominance over Poland will be disguised not only as something supposedly noble, but also as something allegedly desired by Poland and Poles,” commented TV Republika’s program director Michał Rachoń.