Posted on 09/17/2025 5:25:44 PM PDT by fluorescence
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki has said Germany could begin repaying World War II reparations by financing the development of Poland’s defense industry and military capacity.
Nawrocki made the remarks on Tuesday during a press briefing following visits to Berlin and Paris. In Germany, he met with president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and chancellor Friedrich Merz, where they discussed bilateral trade, European Union policy, and the issue of reparations.
“I am in favor of Germany paying reparations to Poland,” the president said. He added that he had suggested Berlin could help finance Polish defense as part of a long-term settlement.
“I suggested that we could be heading toward (...) financing the Polish arms industry, military capabilities, which on one hand would certainly be the beginning of a long process,” Nawrocki said.
He added that this was not a fixed plan, but an idea for discussion. “On one hand, Germany could begin paying reparations by building the strength of the Polish military and its defense capabilities, while simultaneously reinforcing what we all care about, namely NATO’s eastern flank, which is a border region of the ongoing war, especially after September 10,” he said.
The president was referring to the recent breach of Polish territory by several Russian drones, stoking fresh fears in a region already on edge since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Nawrocki’s unity
Nawrocki also appealed for unity within Poland on the issue. Addressing political groups, he said: “After these discussions, I am deeply convinced that we Poles should speak with one voice on this issue. This is our obligation.” He added that a comprehensive reparations report prepared by Poland could be a reference for negotiations, describing it as “very well prepared in terms of scientific, academic, and statistical rigor.”
The former right-wing Polish government presented Germany with a bill of around €1.4 trillion in 2022, claiming compensation for damages inflicted by Hitler’s Germany. The issue has strained Polish-German relations ever since. Germany has said the issue is closed.
Nawrocki said that raising the issue would not harm relations with Berlin. “I am convinced that the discussion about reparations will not affect good relations with Germany,” he said.
He added that resolving the issue of reparations is “a necessity, on one hand for Poland, on the other hand for Germany,” and “an obligation of the entire European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance.”
Trade talks
Nawrocki also mentioned his lengthy discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron during their Paris meeting, saying it focused on the European Union’s planned trade deal with South America’s Mercosur trade bloc.
“The issue that is very important to me, and also to Polish farmers, is the European Union’s agreement with the Mercosur countries—France and the President (Macron) also have many doubts about this agreement.”
“The voices of farmers from France are reaching the president. This was the longest part of the conversation relating to deeply substantive issues,” Nawrocki said.
The talks also covered European security issues and the bilateral treaty signed between Poland and France in the city of Nancy earlier this year.
He added that while Poland, Germany, and France share many common positions, there are also issues that divide them and must be addressed “in a partnership matter.”
Also offer Poland as a refuge for the Volksdeutsche when the Muslims chase them out of Germany, if they promise to behave this time.
Ahhh… now the OTHER-PEOPLE’S-MONEY globalists are being reduced to going after one another’s money. AIN’T LIFE GRAND!
Poland invaded 1939, Berlin wall falls 1989, reparations proposed 2025
How would put this? The world in some major ways changes over generations, in contrast to some fast moving changes as we see in the daily news and current events.
lol
Why’d you wait so long Poland? You do know it took almost 100 years for Germany to pay their WWI reparations, don’t you?
Didn’t Poland get almost half of Germany?
“The president was referring to the recent breach of Polish territory by several Russian drones”
******
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Belarus+drone&ia=web
“electronic jamming”
When the German army runs through poland again to get to Russia, they will indeed be paying.
No coasters..... how gauche
Poland and Germany being neighbors, and now allies, share a defense strategy to protect themselves and other countries in the area.
The idea of Germany which has a much larger economy aiding Poland now in funding defense as a form of reparation makes sense given the current situation.
Reparations is what created a problem that Hitler used. Doesn’t work.
Germany had the benefit of The Marshall Plan after WWII, Poland didn’t.
Who knew back when this was on the telly that he would be preparing the EU for the Fourth Reich...
Well it sure beats the U.S. taxpayer funding their defense, which they had been doing in NATO for quite a while. Germany only got up to the 2% early last year, that they agreed to in 2014. Poland has been looking out for themselves for a while now.
Germany’s not in a position to fund anything.
I’ll bet that went over in Germany like a lead Zeppelin.
European Dis-Union. The elites are effete and weak and beyond harassing and arresting people who are speaking up they are too weak to keep control. So rather than being a dangerous opponent to the United States or Russia, they’re more likely to be at each others’ throats as they fragment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.