Demand for reparations: Poland is pushing for compensation from Germany!

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On September 1, 2025, Poland will demand reparation payments from Germany for war victims, shortly before the 85th anniversary of the Second World War.

Am 1.09.2025 fordert Polen von Deutschland Reparationszahlungen für Kriegsopfer, kurz vor dem 85. Jahrestag des Zweiten Weltkriegs.
On September 1, 2025, Poland will demand reparation payments from Germany for war victims, shortly before the 85th anniversary of the Second World War.

Demand for reparations: Poland is pushing for compensation from Germany!

In the last few days, the topic of reparation payments from Germany to Poland has come into focus again. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, the government plenipotentiary for German-Polish cooperation, has emphasized the urgency of compensation for surviving victims of the Third Reich. This comes just before the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, which will be celebrated next year. Ruchniewicz is certain that repayments were an important topic at the German-Polish consultations in July, where proposals for future relations were also drawn up, such as Polskie Radio reported.

Another item on the agenda are the plans for a German-Polish memorial in Berlin. Ruchniewicz not only emphasizes the restoration of ties, but also the importance of a common defense and security policy between the two nations. Reference is made again and again to the return of cultural assets, which remains an open topic. The question of compensation, however, remains a topic that requires discussion, although Germany has put forward a proposal, the details of which are currently still up in the air.

Historical context of reparations demands

Reparations payments were a central issue in the post-war period. After the Second World War, various phases and mechanisms of compensation were decided upon. The victorious powers obliged Germany to pay reparations, which were implemented through unilateral orders, control council laws and later contractual regulations. Particularly important was the Potsdam Conference of 1945, which stipulated that Poland's reparation claims should be satisfied through dismantling in the Soviet-occupied zone. The distribution key stipulated that Poland should receive 15% of the reparations that the Soviet-occupied zone had to pay, as Wikipedia explains.

However, the results fell short of expectations. According to Polish historians, Poland only received around 7.5% of the promised reparations, which is equivalent to about $231 million. When the Soviet government decided against further reparations in 1953, it also pressured Poland to forego demands. This waiver has since been viewed by all German governments as binding under international law, although Polish international law experts question the legitimacy of the declaration.

Current political developments

While political opinions on demands for reparations are sharpening, the Polish government continues to emphasize that the compensation issue is not closed. A report from 2022 puts the damage caused by Germany at an impressive 1.3 trillion euros. The Federal Republic of Germany, however, sees the reparations issue as closed under international law, which is once again fueling the discussion about compensation. In the general public, the cession of the German eastern territories to Poland is viewed as a political compensation, which is, however, rejected in Poland, as can be seen from the report by [Wikipedia on reparations demands](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparationsförderen_Polens_gegen_die_Bundes Republik_Deutschland).

Given this historically and politically charged past, it remains to be seen how the talks about reparations payments will develop. Today's politics in Poland, which shows strong support for these demands, is characterized by a sense of historical injustice and the need to keep alive the memory of the victims of the war.

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