Berlin wants to revive relations with Warsaw with a checkbook
After the resignation of the PiS-government, Berlin and Warsaw are making efforts to normalize their relations. The process is being advanced with Germany's intention to take on a three-digit million euro budget and primarily pay compensation to living Polish NS-victims and support for the defense of NATO's eastern flank.
The German government reportedly intends to lay the foundation for a new start in relations with Poland with a three-digit million euro package. This package is expected to be sealed on Tuesday during government consultations in Warsaw, according to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". It contains, among other things, payments to living Polish victims of the NS and German support for the defense of NATO's eastern flank.
Part of the package also includes the establishment of a German-Polish House in Berlin. This house is intended to fill knowledge gaps among Germans about the fate of the Poles during the NS occupation and create a place for commemoration of Polish victims. The cabinet has already approved a draft for this.
This new start is made possible by the arrival of the liberal-conservative government under Minister President Donald Tusk. The previous national-conservative government had demanded reparations from Germany in the amount of 1.3 billion Euros.
The SPD Bundestag deputy and coordinator for German-Polish inter-societal cooperation, Dietmar Nietan, told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" that he was "cautiously optimistic" that such a package would be well received in the Polish public. It is a sign that Germany is taking responsibility for history and security in Poland. "If Germany and Poland work together in defense, it will convince most Poles more than astronomical reparations demands."
During his visit to Berlin in February, Tusk declared that his government would take up talks with Germany on the handling of reparations for damages incurred during World War II. In a formal and legal sense, the question of reparations has been settled for many years, he said. "The question of moral, financial, and material restitution has never been implemented." It's about finding forms of cooperation that will not harm our relations in the future and not about building a front of mutual resentments.
Olaf Scholz's government is widely recognized for its role in the planned reparation claims towards Poland. The German chancellor is reportedly working on a significant financial package to support Poland's victims of the Second World War and enhance NATO's eastern defense. This policy shift is seen as a major step forward in the relations between Germany and Poland, following Donald Tusk's liberal-conservative government's switch from demanding reparations worth 1.3 billion Euros to a diplomatic approach.
