The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs has rejected in its first reading the draft resolution proposed by the Law and Justice Party (PiS) regarding the continuation of efforts to obtain war reparations from Germany. According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, the resolution unnecessarily conflated the issue of compensation with the construction of a memorial in Berlin commemorating Polish victims.
At the end of last December, PiS representative Arkadiusz Mularczyk announced the submission of a resolution to the Sejm, urging the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers to pursue reparations, compensation, and restitution for the losses inflicted by Germany during World War II.
The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs convened on Thursday to conduct the initial reading of the draft. Civic Coalition (KO) member Marek Krząkała proposed the rejection of the resolution, which received support from 16 committee members, with 9 voting against it.
During the committee session, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski expressed criticism of PiS’s resolution. He recalled that in September 2022, the Sejm adopted a resolution supporting Poland’s pursuit of compensation for damages caused by Germany during World War II, with the backing of 418 deputies.
“The problem with the text we see today is very simple: taking another parliamentary resolution, which in my opinion is significantly worse than the one we adopted on September 14, 2022 (…) I consider it a misguided initiative because it weakens the significance, message, and importance of the previous resolution,” Bartoszewski stated.
He added that PiS’s draft resolution unnecessarily conflated the issue of compensation, which morally belongs to Poland, with the matter of constructing a memorial in Berlin to commemorate Polish victims.
Bartoszewski assured that the new government continues to raise the issue of compensation in discussions with Germany. “Our government does not cease in its efforts; during every bilateral visit with Germany, there is talk about the compensation owed to us, it is only a matter of what form it will take,” Bartoszewski emphasized.