Red Tape Hot Box on The blame game
Any Polish criticism of the West, even if absolutely justified, opens up a Pandora's box of prejudice, uncovers huge layers of contempt, and then leads to the ultimate argument: "You Poles are ungrateful so-and-sos. The civilized West led you into the EU, and you have the audacity to hold something against the West."
But Poland didn't join the EU to sit meekly in the last row, hanging with a silly smile upon every word uttered by its marvelous elder classmates.
Recently, I read that the destruction of Warsaw by Nazi forces during World War II cost the city $45.3 billion. Now, the Sejm is calling for the government to negotiate war reparations from Germany. On the other hand, the governments of both countries have stated that any call for reparations is a non-starter.
There is a certain logic to both sides. Compensation from Germany wouldn't actually be a means of any income, but an instrument for pointedly reminding the Germans about the historical truth. It seems that today's Germans aren't ashamed about the War anymore. They no longer see themselves as a society of perpetrators, which rouses a bitter (if slightly too emotional) response from the Polish side.
Nevertheless, we can't forget that since the destruction of Warsaw in 1944, 60 years have passed. The young Germans of today aren't the ones who should be blamed for those horrendous events; nor are they the ones who should pay compensation for the damages. Some people say that the youth must pay for the mistakes its the elders, but is that really so? Many Germans believe that they have already paid by giving up their eastern regions. They add that if Poles seek any further compensation they should claim it from the Russians, who annexed swathes of land from eastern Poland.
But the most disturbing idea is a Center of the Expelled in Berlin. This center would be a monument to the ignominy of countries that displaced the Germans after the war, a mausoleum to the great wrong done to the Germans. However, the German victims of displacement can't be compared to the Polish victims of systematic terror, the intention of which was to degrade them and ultimately, to destroy them.
But Poland didn't join the EU to sit meekly in the last row, hanging with a silly smile upon every word uttered by its marvelous elder classmates.
Recently, I read that the destruction of Warsaw by Nazi forces during World War II cost the city $45.3 billion. Now, the Sejm is calling for the government to negotiate war reparations from Germany. On the other hand, the governments of both countries have stated that any call for reparations is a non-starter.
There is a certain logic to both sides. Compensation from Germany wouldn't actually be a means of any income, but an instrument for pointedly reminding the Germans about the historical truth. It seems that today's Germans aren't ashamed about the War anymore. They no longer see themselves as a society of perpetrators, which rouses a bitter (if slightly too emotional) response from the Polish side.
Nevertheless, we can't forget that since the destruction of Warsaw in 1944, 60 years have passed. The young Germans of today aren't the ones who should be blamed for those horrendous events; nor are they the ones who should pay compensation for the damages. Some people say that the youth must pay for the mistakes its the elders, but is that really so? Many Germans believe that they have already paid by giving up their eastern regions. They add that if Poles seek any further compensation they should claim it from the Russians, who annexed swathes of land from eastern Poland.
But the most disturbing idea is a Center of the Expelled in Berlin. This center would be a monument to the ignominy of countries that displaced the Germans after the war, a mausoleum to the great wrong done to the Germans. However, the German victims of displacement can't be compared to the Polish victims of systematic terror, the intention of which was to degrade them and ultimately, to destroy them.
