Why Poland wants Germany to pay war reparations

Poland commemorated the 83^rd anniversary of its invasion by Nazi Germany this week. To mark the occasion the leader of the country’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jarosław Kaczyński, announced that Poland was once again seeking reparations for the invasion from Germany. Speaking from the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Kaczyński unveiled a report which put the damages inflicted on Poland by the Nazis at over $1.3 trillion.

He did not specify the period over which Germany is expected to pay, only saying the path to obtaining reparations ‘will take a long time and will not be easy.’ The legal procedure is also unclear – a spokesperson said it is hoped Germany will ‘draw the appropriate conclusions’ from reading the report, but if not ‘we will take further action, including formal action on the international stage.’

Kaczyński said reparations were needed to ‘rebuild normality in the functioning of the Polish state‘ as the effects of the Nazi occupation ‘in many cases continue to this day.’