On Sunday, after the celebration 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II and bombing Wieluń by the German Air Force, a meeting of the Local Government Council of the National Development Council was held at the Wieluń museum with the participation of President Duda, in which, among others, the head of the Institute of National Remembrance, Karol Nawrocki, was present.
The President recalled the destruction that Wieluń suffered in a few hours as a result of the bombing of 1 September 1939, but as he said, the destruction affected hundreds of cities in Poland and thousands of people died as a result of the attacks. Duda noted that “an estimate has been made” of the total losses suffered by Poland as a result of the German aggression.
Duda: Germany apologized, but PLN 6 trillion in compensation still not paid
Experts have made this estimate and, according to current financial standards, this amount is more than PLN 6.2 trillion, that is, more than 1.5 trillion euros. – said the president, referring to the report prepared in recent years by a commission headed by a PiS politician, former deputy head of the Foreign Ministry, Arkadiusz Mularczyk. It is important to emphasize that the majority of this amount is over 70%. This amount – these are in fact the losses we have suffered in human substance, not even infrastructure, destroyed buildings, destroyed industries, cities (…) to the extent that we have lost over 5 million citizens – said the president.
Duda demands PLN 6 trillion in compensation from Germany
As he added, “this enormous human loss (…), which is extremely difficult to estimate, has remained, in a certain sense, an unhealed wound in the chest of our society for decades.”
I would like us to talk about this because this issue has not yet been resolved. Of course we want to have the best possible relationship with our neighbour and today we have very good relations with Germany; they were developed, among other things, thanks to the honest admission of guilt on the part of the German side in the Second World War (…) We often hear the word +sorry+, and we often hear requests for forgiveness. And in a human and Christian sense, I think that most Poles have forgiven in their hearts. – said President Duda.
This is obviously an extremely important part, perhaps the most important, in ensuring that nations can continue to live in harmony and friendship and build a good future together. But apart from that, there is also the sum of the losses, these material losses. And regardless of whether we accept and forgive (…) we deserve compensation for the loss, we deserve the restoration of the previous state, we deserve compensation for what has been irretrievably destroyed. – he emphasized.
The president said that such compensation “never happened”. In this context, he mentioned funds paid by the German authorities to people who were forced to work in Germany during the war. If we calculate the average of the money that was actually transferred to these people, it amounts to approximately 160 euros per person. I think there can be no question of compensation for years of forced labor in Germany, slavery in fact. – he said.
Duda added that the case has an international dimension, including: in the context of Russia’s future accountability for the losses and damage caused to Ukraine it attacked. We would not like Ukraine to have to rebuild itself at its own expense, as Poland did for 40 years. It will demand support, but above all it will demand compensation and redress for the damage caused, which is the absolute obligation of the aggressor, that is, Russia. – he emphasized.
In the early morning of September 1, 1939, the Germans carried out an air raid on Wieluń.. 380 bombs with a total weight of 46 tons fell on the city. According to various sources, between 1,200 and over 2,000 people died. Wieluń was almost completely destroyed; it was the first bombing raid of the Second World War.
