Berlin calls Polish demands for the payment of reparations groundless
Germany has refused to pay Poland additional reparations for damages inflicted during the Second World War. "From the point of view of the federal government, there is no basis for and legal effectiveness in questioning the refusal of reparations in 1953," said official German government official Steffen Seibert, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
According to Seibert, Germany has already been held accountable for the "unthinkable crimes" committed by the Nazis during the war. In addition, he recalled that Poland received reparations until 1953, at which point Warsaw itself decided to refuse further payments from Berlin.
Earlier, Poland stated that Berlin was obliged to pay compensation to Warsaw for damage caused during the war, as well as for crimes committed against the Polish people. Additionally, Polish politicians demanded payments from Russia, recalling the Peace of Riga, which was signed in 1921 between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and Poland. According to the document, the Polish side was to receive 30 million rubles in gold, but did not receive it.