The newly elected Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, has called on Germany for war reparations from World War II while commemorating the anniversary of the German invasion of Poland in 1939.
Addressing the crowd at the Westerplatte memorial in Gdańsk on Monday, Nawrocki stated, “To establish a partnership grounded in truth and mutual respect, we must resolve the issue of reparations from the German state.”
According to the Polish news agency PAP, the conservative right-wing politician emphasized, “Poland, as a frontline state and a crucial member of NATO’s eastern flank, requires justice, transparency in relations with Germany, and also reparations from the German government,” urging the Polish administration to support this demand.
In recent years, the Law and Justice Party, a national conservative faction in Poland, has predominantly focused on seeking reparations from Germany for the extensive damage inflicted on Poland during World War II.
The party also backed Nawrocki’s election as an independent candidate for the presidency, and he assumed office in early August.
Germany, however, maintains that this matter was conclusively addressed by the reunification treaties, which stated that Poland is not entitled to reparations.
The Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, ignited the Second World War. In one of the initial battles, a German warship bombarded the Polish military position at Westerplatte in Gdańsk, where Polish defenders held out against the Nazi military superiority for seven days.