WARSAW – Polish President Karol Nawrocki has renewed calls for Germany to pay World War II reparations, reviving a long-standing demand of the conservative PiS party during a ceremony marking the war’s 86th anniversary.
“We must resolve the issue of reparations from the German state, which I, as President of Poland, unequivocally demand for the common good,” Nawrocki said, urging support for Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government in pressing Berlin.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski responded that while Poland is morally entitled to compensation, “the case is hopeless,” though he added he supports the president’s initiative.
Poland formally renounced war reparations in 1953 under Soviet pressure, but PiS has long argued the decision is invalid.
During its eight years in power, PiS MP Arkadiusz Mularczyk estimated Poland’s war reparation claims at 6.2 trillion zlotys (€1.5 trillion).
