Yesterday German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the new Polish president Karol Nawrocki in Berlin.
Nawrocki is a member of the right wing PIS party in Poland, while the prime minister Donald Tusk belongs to a more moderate party.
The PIS party is well known for Anti German propaganda in Poland, fear-mongering and using hate and other methods to spread it.
For example in 2007 a magazine, which was near to the right wing, showed Angela Merkel as Hitler. Etc.etc.
Now a little bit of history: after WWII and before the GDR and West Germany was formed, Poland got large areas in the West from the former Third Reich while the USSR took some in the east.
Then the GDR and West Germany was formed later in 1949.
The GDR confirmed that they do recognize the border to Poland and don't want any of the areas back in the Görlitz treaty in 1950. West Germany, while having no border to Poland at that time, confirmed the border to Poland under chancellor Willy Brandt (SPD) 1972 in the so called Ostverträgen.
In the so called 2+4-Vertrag, which was the foundation of the reunification, reunified Germany again confirmed the border line to Poland. Poland and reunified Germany later in 1990 signed an own treaty which finalised that line as well.
Poland itself announced in 1953 that they will not demand any reparations.
And here begins a now over 21 years on-going dispute between Poland and the reunified Germany. Modern Poland is arguing that the declaration of 1953 is null and void, because back then the government was not democratic and influenced heavily by the USSR.
Germany on the other hand is arguing that when this argumentation is valid Poland never should have taken the former Eastern parts of Germany, because in 1945 there was also a Stalin influenced government in Warsaw. Germany has accepted and taken the toll to be the successor of the Third Reich, so the Poland formed in 1989 is by international law the successor of the former communist state and cannot cherry pick what on signed treaties is valid and what not.
This however is now an on-going dispute between Poland's right wing populists and the German government.
Poland is demanding 1.3 bn Euros as reparations for WWII, which Germany should have to pay. Germany is always rejecting these demands and arguing with the history of signed treaties and such.
Now back Nawrocki: he thought he could make a deal with Steinmeier. Nawrocki offered to fortify Polands border to Russia more, if Germany accepts and pays the demanded reparations. Steinmeier declined, as always. For German politicians the door for reparations has been closed a long time ago.
This is for sure not the last time Poland will put that demand on the table again.
Most Germans also do reject these demands due to the chain of announcements and treaties in history, also arguing that the areas Poland gained from former Germany were way more valuable and had a bigger size than what was taken by the USSR. On top of that back then 8 million Germans were explused by force from the former German areas in 1945, which is seen as violation of international public law. And so far modern Poland never apologised for that. So this adds to the refusal opinion of many people as well.
Bei seinem Antrittsbesuch in Berlin hat Polens Präsident Nawrocki die Forderung nach Reparationszahlungen von 1,3 Billionen Euro wieder ins Gespräch gebracht. Die Bundesregierung lehnt das ab und verweist auf alte Verträge.
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