POLAND lost a fifth of its population in the second world war. Vast swathes of Warsaw were razed to the ground and the city still bears the scars. Damage to the capital alone amounted to $45bn, according to an estimate in 2004 by city hall. Yet Poland got nothing in compensation. In 1953, under pressure from the Soviet Union, its communist government renounced any claim to reparations from the then East Germany, ruled by a fellow-communist regime. (West Germany made payments to Greece, Israel and Yugoslavia.)
Now the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) has put reparations back on the agenda, after an unsuccessful attempt by MPs in 2004 to get the matter raised. It echoes calls by the Greek government two years ago. Poland is already locked in a row with the European Commission over what Brussels sees as its undermining of the rule of law, most recently for attempting to control the judiciary. So one might think that Poland needs...Continue reading
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