Poland Puts Wwii Losses At 1.3 Trillion Demands German Reparations

Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up WARSAW, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Poland estimates its World War II losses caused by Germany at 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.32 trillion), the leader of the country’s ruling nationalists said on Thursday, saying that Warsaw will formally demand reparations. Poland’s biggest trading partner and fellow European Union and NATO member Germany has previously said all financial claims linked to World War II have been settled. Poland’s new estimate surpasses the $850 billion estimate by a ruling party lawmaker from 2019. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has repeated calls for compensation several times since taking power in 2015, but Poland has not has formally requested reparations. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up “The presented amount was approved using the most limited, conservative method, it would be possible to increase,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of Law and Justice (PiS), said at a press conference. The militant stance against Germany, often used by PiS to mobilize its constituency, has strained relations with Berlin. It escalated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid criticism of Berlin’s reliance on Russian gas and its slowness to help Kyiv. About six million Poles, including three million Polish Jews, were killed during the war, and Warsaw was leveled after a 1944 uprising in which about 200,000 civilians were killed. The German government and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In 1953 Poland’s then-communist leaders renounced all claims to war reparations under pressure from the Soviet Union, which wanted to absolve East Germany, also a Soviet satellite, of any responsibility. PiS says this deal is invalid because Poland was unable to negotiate fair compensation. Donald Tusk, leader of Poland’s main opposition Political Platform party, said Thursday that Kaczynski’s announcement was “not about reparations.” “This is an internal political campaign to rebuild support for the ruling party,” he said. PiS still leads in most opinion polls, but its lead over Civic Platform has narrowed in recent months amid criticism over its handling of rising inflation and the economic slowdown. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, Thomas Escritt in Berlin; Edited by Alex Richardson, William Maclean Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Poland Puts Wwii Losses At 1.3 Trillion Demands German Reparations Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Edith Guyton”

Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up WARSAW, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Poland estimates its World War II losses caused by Germany at 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.32 trillion), the leader of the country’s ruling nationalists said on Thursday, saying that Warsaw will formally demand reparations. Poland’s biggest trading partner and fellow European Union and NATO member Germany has previously said all financial claims linked to World War II have been settled. Poland’s new estimate surpasses the $850 billion estimate by a ruling party lawmaker from 2019. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has repeated calls for compensation several times since taking power in 2015, but Poland has not has formally requested reparations. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up “The presented amount was approved using the most limited, conservative method, it would be possible to increase,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of Law and Justice (PiS), said at a press conference. The militant stance against Germany, often used by PiS to mobilize its constituency, has strained relations with Berlin. It escalated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid criticism of Berlin’s reliance on Russian gas and its slowness to help Kyiv. About six million Poles, including three million Polish Jews, were killed during the war, and Warsaw was leveled after a 1944 uprising in which about 200,000 civilians were killed. The German government and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In 1953 Poland’s then-communist leaders renounced all claims to war reparations under pressure from the Soviet Union, which wanted to absolve East Germany, also a Soviet satellite, of any responsibility. PiS says this deal is invalid because Poland was unable to negotiate fair compensation. Donald Tusk, leader of Poland’s main opposition Political Platform party, said Thursday that Kaczynski’s announcement was “not about reparations.” “This is an internal political campaign to rebuild support for the ruling party,” he said. PiS still leads in most opinion polls, but its lead over Civic Platform has narrowed in recent months amid criticism over its handling of rising inflation and the economic slowdown. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, Thomas Escritt in Berlin; Edited by Alex Richardson, William Maclean Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.