Should Germany should pay WWII reparations to Poland?Should Germany should pay WWII reparations to Poland? The unequivocal answer of the Poles

More than half of the respondents believe that Germany should pay war reparations to Poland for damages caused during the Second World War, a recent poll indicates.

The wPolityce.pl website on Sunday published the results of a survey in which Poles were asked if Poland should be compensated for damages caused by Germany as well as the war crimes perpetrated by that country during World War Two.

According to the poll, 57 percent of the respondents indicated Poland should receive war reparations, while 19 percent held the opposite opinion, and 24 percent were undecided.

The findings also revealed that 93 percent of voters from the United Right - the current governing conservative coalition composed of Law and Justice (PiS), Solidary Poland and Agreement parties - were in favour of the war reparations, whereas 28 percent of voters from the Civic Coalition - the main opposition grouping - felt the same way.

On September 1, 2022, the Polish government presented a comprehensive report detailing the material losses suffered by Poland during the Second World War along with a pledge to demand money from Germany in reparations to the tune of EUR 1.3 trillion.

The German Foreign Ministry, however, has rejected Poland’s claims and stated the matter was closed and that the German government would not enter into negotiations on the subject.

The survey was carried out by the Social Changes pollster for the wPolityce.pl website on a representative sample of 1,056 Poles from January 6 to January 9, 2023.

(PAP) jch/at