On Monday, October 3, on the eve of a meeting in Warsaw with German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, her Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau signed an official note demanding the payment of about 1.3 trillion dollars in reparations for the damage caused by the Nazi occupiers during World War II.

This is reported by the Associated Press.

What is the document about

The note expresses the belief "that the parties must take immediate measures for a final, comprehensive and permanent legal and material settlement of the consequences of German aggression and occupation from 1939 to 1945." 

Zbigniew Rau added that Poland demands, in particular, a solution to the issue of stolen works of art, archives and bank deposits.

He said that Berlin should make an effort to inform German society about the "real" picture of the war and its catastrophic consequences for Poland.

The position of Poland

Warsaw is convinced that the payment of reparations will strengthen bilateral relations through truth and justice and close the painful pages of the past. 

Earlier, marking the 83rd anniversary of the start of World War II on September 1, the Polish government presented a major report on the damage, estimating it at $1.3 trillion.

The Polish government rejects a 1953 declaration by the country's then-communist leaders, made under pressure from the Soviet Union, that Poland would make no further claims against Germany.

Germany's reaction

At the same time, Germany claims that compensation was paid to the countries of the Eastern Bloc in the years after the war.

Also in the 1990s, Germany paid one-time compensation to former prisoners of Nazi concentration camps and victims of forced labor, including many Poles.

Before leaving for Poland, the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Annalena Berbock, said that both European neighbors and partners are "responsible for preserving the trust that we have built together over the past 30 years."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany conciliatoryly added that the reunification of Germany in 1990 was "unthinkable without the brave Poles who resolutely struck, fought and demonstrated for freedom."

It will be recalled that the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, said that Warsaw will seek the realization of its demands for compensation from Germany for the crimes of the Nazis during the Second World War, because the "souls of the deceased ancestors" demand this.

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