Poland, Germany, and Reparations
The Long Shadow of the Second World War
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Polish government has submitted an investigative report addressing the damage inflicted on Poland by Germany during the Second World War. The report puts the amount of reparations due at EUR 1.3 trillion. Whether there is a legal basis for such claims is doubtful. Poland received reparations from the Soviet zone of occupation in Germany as well as the German Democratic Republic, and then in 1953 issued a waiver of reparations. The Federal Republic of Germany settled individual claims for compensation. The German government views the issue of compensation as settled by the 1990 Two Plus Four Treaty. Legally, this may hold true, but politically and morally, the question of “compensation” remains current.
(Osteuropa 9-10/2022, pp. 53–68)