The German government should pay compensation to surviving Polish victims of World War II as soon as possible, the German daily Die Welt appeals. With each passing week, the number of people entitled to such benefits decreases, while the issue remains unresolved.
Comparisons to Angela Merkel’s policy
The newspaper referred to an interview that the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Johannes Wadephul, gave on Monday to Gazeta Wyborcza. The minister emphasized that the federal government should carefully analyze the possibilities of providing aid to the surviving victims. Wadephul also assured that he is personally engaged in ensuring swift progress in this matter.
The German foreign minister underlined that Germany bears responsibility for the crimes of World War II and for a shared European future of security, freedom, and prosperity.
“At first glance, this sounds correct. But what does it actually mean?” asks Die Welt. “The problem is that Wadephul’s statement follows the line of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governments: Germany bears moral responsibility toward Poland, but the issue of reparations has been legally settled,” the daily commented.
Call for rapid compensation payments
In Die Welt’s view, anyone who cares about historical justice and German-Polish reconciliation must support the idea of compensation for German crimes. “This is not about paying reparations amounting to trillions of euros, but about acknowledging suffering,” it stressed. “These would be pensions for 30,000-50,000 survivors of concentration camps and ghettos, for former forced laborers and insurgents,” it added.
Die Welt emphasized that Germany should make these compensation payments now, since with each week the number of surviving Polish victims of World War II diminishes. “For years, Berlin and Warsaw have been discussing compensation for survivors. Numerous rumors circulate about which side is to blame for the deadlock. The German government should not let this stop it, but rather move away from its old, well-known formula,” the daily concluded.
Nawrocki in Berlin on reparations
During his first visit to Berlin in September, President Karol Nawrocki renewed the demand for payment of war reparations and announced the creation of a team to address the issue. The German side, however, reiterated its stance that the question of reparations is closed and legally resolved.
Earlier, the German government’s commissioner for cooperation with Poland, Knut Abraham, pointed to the need for a new approach to historical responsibility, suggesting, among other things, deeper cooperation in the field of security. In a similar tone, Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia, after a meeting with Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner, called for the creation of a fund dedicated to strengthening the shared border and Europe’s security.
In July 2024, during Polish-German intergovernmental consultations in Warsaw, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced support for people who survived the German occupation. The details of this initiative have not yet been disclosed.
Germany appears to believe that limited compensation to the dwindling number of surviving Polish victims of World War II can serve as a substitute for broader reparations. By offering pensions or symbolic payments to camp survivors, forced laborers, and insurgents, Berlin signals readiness to acknowledge individual suffering while continuing to reject Poland’s wider claims for state-level reparations.