WARSAW (Sputnik) — German Ambassador to Poland Rolf Nikel reiterated on Tuesday Berlin's position on German World War II reparations to Poland, saying that the issue is formally and politically closed.
"This issue is legally and politically closed, but morally it is not… We take our responsibility and we tell the truth about what happened, nobody will deny it," Nickel told the TVN24 broadcaster.
The ambassador noted that the reconciliation process between Germany and Poland after World War II was a "treasure" and stressed the importance of preserving and developing it in the future, according to the broadcaster.
On August 24, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said that Poland had the right to demand reparations from Germany to compensate for atrocities committed during World War II. The prime minister stressed that reparations would be "a reminder of justice, of what belongs to Poland." The German government believes the issue of reparations to Poland has already been resolved.
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, after the so-called Gleiwitz incident that marked the beginning of the war. It took Germany just over a month to occupy Poland, which was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945.
Earlier in the month, members of the Polish ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party earlier in the day claimed that Warsaw had the right to demand the reparation payments not only from Berlin but also from Moscow — on the grounds of the 1921 Treaty of Riga between Poland and Soviet Russia.
