Dwindling survivors and stalled negotiations
Between 30,000 and 50,000 survivors of the German occupation of Poland exist, but their numbers dwindle every week because many are over 90 years old. These survivors, who include those who endured concentration camps, ghettos, and death marches, as well as former forced workers and participants in the Warsaw Uprising, often live alone and in poor health. Josef Hinterseher, a German foreign office spokesman, said in late September that the draft budget reflects the fact that no decision has been made regarding compensation for victims. This confirms that survivors of concentration camps, ghettos, and death marches, as well as participants in the Warsaw Uprising, will not receive any one-off payment or monthly pension from the German government. The German government’s failure to act is a declaration of moral bankruptcy. While Berlin discussed removing two Russian oligarchs from the EU sanctions list, officials made no mention of providing tangible help to those who suffered during the Nazi terror.
Negotiations in Berlin ministries have continued for years without a decision. Many Poles feel the descendants of the perpetrators wait for the victims to die so the issue will resolve itself. This delay causes sadness and fury in Poland. The current lack of support for survivors shows a broken compass in Berlin. Even if Germany builds memorials, it offers no tangible help when it is asked for. The survivors’ numbers dwindle every week and the need for a decision becomes increasingly urgent. The issue involves a few hundred million euro, which is a small amount when compared to the €1.3 trillion the Law and Justice party once demanded.
Financial realities and diplomatic shifts
In December 2023, the government of Donald Tusk switched from demanding war reparations to talking about "making amends." This shift aimed to allow the German government to offer a gesture recognizing suffering through a relatively small sum of money. Olaf Scholz offered Tusk a one-off payment in 2024, but the prime minister turned the sum down as insufficient. Polish diplomats are demanding monthly pensions instead of the one-off payment that former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered to Donald Tusk in 2024, which the prime minister rejected as being insufficient.
| Demand Type | Source | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Historical Reparations | Law and Justice (PiS) | €1.3 trillion |
| Current Compensation | Negotiators | A few hundred million euro |
German foreign ministry officials reportedly ask for a Polish guarantee that there will be no more demands for reparations in the future. This request brings to mind an image of a perpetrator trying to buy a victim’s silence. Chancellor Friedrich Merz must work with the foreign and finance ministries to provide for compensation in the budget to resolve this. If political processes move too slowly, civil society or corporations such as BASF, Siemens, Volkswagen, BMW, and Deutsche Bank could create a fund for monthly payments. The situation in Germany, especially since the state elections in September, suggests a country with a broken moral compass. This need for action follows the rise of Hans-Thomas Tillschneider of the AfD, who became vice-president of the state parliament of Sachsen-Anhalt. Tillschneider wrote on X that "the Poles have been getting on my nerves for a long time now." In Berlin, the left-wing Die Linke celebrated its electoral success alongside those with antisemitic views, which is a shameful development. The German government can now show that its rhetoric of responsibility is not merely empty words.
