Poland is trying to settle financial claims with Germany.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau signed a diplomatic note Germany on World War II reparations, he said on Monday, formalizing Poland's demand for compensation ahead of a visit by a top Berlin diplomat.
The move came after ruling Polish nationalists last year month, it was estimated that Germany owes the country 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.26 trillion). Germany, Poland's biggest trading partner, said all financial claims related to the war had been settled.
“(The note) expresses the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland that the parties should take immediate steps for a permanent and effective solution to the issue of the consequences of aggression and German occupation,” Rau said at a press conference, Reuters reports.
< p>The head of Polish diplomacy mentioned that the demands also included the restoration of the status of a national minority for Poles living in Germany, the possibility of teaching the Polish language in schools, proper cooperation in perpetuating the memory of the victims of the Second World War or providing German society with a real picture of the conflict. “Especially the damage and losses caused to Poland and the Poles,” Zbigniew Rau emphasized. He expressed his belief that after solving these issues, Polish-German relations will be based on justice and truth. “This will lead to closing the painful pages of the past and will ensure the further development of bilateral relations in the spirit of good neighborliness and friendly cooperation,” the minister said.
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The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lukasz Jasina, told reporters that Rau would raise the issue with his German counterpart, Annalena Berbock, during her visit to Warsaw on Tuesday.
The diplomatic note was drawn up on the basis of the casualty report , caused by Poland as a result of aggression and German occupation during the Second World War of 1939-1945, published on September 1. He estimates Poland's losses from the war at 6 trillion 220 billion 609 million zlotys.
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Recall that in September, the Polish Sejm adopted a resolution on reparations from Germany.
