In a recurring scenario, another visit by a German leader to Poland ends with nothing more than courteous gestures. During his visit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier failed to provide any specifics on reparations for Polish veterans. This has not gone unnoticed by German media. The “Tageszeitung” (TAZ) highlighted that first Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and now President Steinmeier, have visited Warsaw without any concrete offers.
“President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked for forgiveness in Poland for Nazi crimes but did not specify any reparations for the victims,” emphasized Gabriele Lesser, the Warsaw correspondent for TAZ, as reported by dw.com.
The German newspaper also noted the urgency of the matter, pointing out that Polish veterans are now 90 years old or older, making time a critical factor.
Silence on Even “Symbolic Recognition”
In early July, Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Warsaw and spoke vaguely about “symbolic recognition of their suffering.” However, he did not specify any amounts, timelines, or criteria for potential payments. “The disappointment is significant,” observed TAZ journalist Lesser.
President Steinmeier’s apology for German crimes was an important gesture, but it fell short of resolving the reparations issue. Lesser described Steinmeier’s act as a “ritualized commemoration,” insufficient in the current context. She stressed that Germany should offer tangible reparations, at least to the hundreds of thousands of Polish children who were taken from their parents for Germanization.
“This approach could gradually lay the foundation for a genuine partnership of equals,” concluded Gabriele Lesser in TAZ, cited by dw.com.
Actions of the Morawiecki’s Government, Gestures from Scholz and Tusk Administrations
Recently, Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, the government plenipotentiary for Polish-German cooperation, stated in an interview with Deutschlandfunk (DLF) that it is high time to seek concrete solutions regarding reparations. However, aligning with the current foreign policy, he distanced himself from calculations prepared by the previous government. According to Ruchniewicz and Donald Tusk’s administration, this issue is considered a closed chapter.
In 2022, a report on Poland’s losses due to German aggression and occupation during World War II estimated the total damages at over 6 trillion PLN. In April 2023, Mateusz Morawiecki’s government adopted a resolution emphasizing the need to address reparations, compensation, and restitution in Polish-German relations due to Germany’s 1939 invasion and subsequent occupation of Poland.