This Wednesday, the Bundestag is expected to vote on a draft resolution concerning the construction of a monument for Polish victims of the war and the German occupation. The government is now being urged to act… by the very parties that compose it. The proposal contains no date indicating when such a monument might actually be built. It does, however, imply that the “Polish-German House,” which was supposed to serve as a place dedicated to remembering the victims, will occupy the minds of German politicians at some later point.
In 2024, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had declared that the Polish-German House would be established. It was supposed to be an element meant to replace war reparations. At the time, the German head of government claimed it would be “a visible sign against forgetting and a warning for the future.”
Governing parties prod the government
This was also when the concept of a monument in Berlin surfaced—one intended to commemorate Poles murdered by the Germans. After lofty words, it turned out that our neighbors placed in the capital a 30-ton glacial erratic boulder. Now things are supposed to change. The stone is to be replaced by a proper structure. At least, that’s what representatives of the governing parties claim, as they plan on Wednesday to… urge the government formed by their own colleagues to move forward.
The draft resolution scheduled for Wednesday’s Bundestag vote has been signed by the heads of the parliamentary groups forming the coalition—Jens Spahn from the CDU, Alexander Hoffmann from the CSU, and Matthias Miersch from the SPD. The document notes the importance of relations between Berlin and Warsaw, which remain overshadowed by the crimes committed by Germans during World War II.
However, it is practically devoid of specifics. It contains statements saying that planning for the construction should begin “without delay,” and the project should be completed “as quickly as possible.” No concrete deadlines are provided.
What about the Polish-German House?
It is known, however, that there will be changes to the plans regarding the establishment of the Polish-German House. The building, which was supposed to be connected to the monument, will not be erected on the grounds of the former Kroll Opera because—despite earlier promises—this would be “difficult to implement.” It has only been assured that the site, combined with a museum center, will be located “in the heart of Berlin.” When? “At a different time” than the monument.
It is worth noting, by the way, that although the Polish-German House does not exist physically, certain events are already being held under its banner. Not long ago, there was public attention around a book presentation by Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe, a Pole posing as a German, who wrote about how allegedly… Polish local officials collaborated with the Germans during World War II.
Another “success”?
Interestingly, the vote on the monument resolution is scheduled to take place two days after German-Polish governmental consultations in Berlin. It would therefore not be surprising if, on Wednesday, we hear from representatives of the Polish authorities about yet another “success”—a resolution urging the government to act. All this despite the fact that, according to the report on wartime losses prepared by the previous Polish government, Germany owes Poland 6 trillion 220 billion 609 million złoty.