Parliamentary group backs Polish reparations claims

The parliamentary group of legal experts (Biuro Analiz Sejmowych) issued an opinion which backs Polish government claim that Warsaw has the right to seek reparations from Germany for its actions in the country during World War II. The opinion, which is non-binding, argues that the decision by Poland’s communist authorities in the 1950s to relinquish all claims against Germany for damages caused by its invasion and occupation of much of Poland was unconstitutional and invalid. The issue of German reparations resurfaced a few weeks ago, when major Law and Justice (PiS) politicians, including its leader Jarosław Kaczyński, started to bring that issue up in the media. However, in recent days, the PiS government started downplaying the issue with Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski saying that discussions on reparations “may not yield the appropriate result.” He added, however, that such discussion should take place if only to “inform the German side about the enormity of destruction it has caused.” In 1953, Polish communist government agreed to forsake any reparations, following Soviet Union suit. That claim was later repeated by a number of Polish governments, including those after the fall of communism, with the most recent claim in 2004, after Poland joined the European Union. In response, German officials said that the issue was “dealt with conclusively in the past.”