POLAND has demanded Germany pay £1trillion in reparations for the destruction caused by the Nazi invasion and the Holocaust.
The nation has tallied up the economic cost of Hitler’s bloody occupation and wants the debt to be settled.
Millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis in Poland as Hitler carried out his ruthless campaign of extermination.
Polish people were subjugated and their towns and livelihoods destroyed by the Germans during World War II – with the effects of the Nazi occupation felt for generations after the Allied victory.
While marking the 83rd anniversary of the start of the conflict, top politician Jaroslaw Kaczynski made the huge claim.
The leader of the Law and Justice party made the explosive announcement while publishing a long-awaited report on the expenses Poland have had to pay following years of Nazi occupation.
He said: “We not only prepared the report but we have also taken the decision as to the further steps.
“We will turn to Germany to open negotiations on the reparations.”
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Kaczynski admitted it would be a “long and not an easy path” but believes “one day will bring success”.
The former Prime Minister insisted the move would create “Polish-German reconciliation” based on “truth”.
And he is adamant that Germany – Europe’s biggest economy – is capable of stumping up the staggering amount of cash.
But Germany argues that they already paid their dues to East Bloc nations in the years following the war.
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They claim that territories lost by Poland in the East when borders were redrawn were compensated with some of Germany’s pre-war lands.
In 1953, Poland’s then-communist rulers waived all claims to war reparations under staunch pressure from the Soviet Union.
But officials now say the agreement is invalid because their country was unable to negotiate fair compensation at the time.
And Kaczynski claims German troops who took part in the invasion effectively got off with their war crimes scot-free.
He fumed: “Germany has never really accounted for its crimes against Poland.”
Despite the disputing nations now being major partners within the European Union, the legacy of their tumultuous relationship has reared its head.
£1TRILLION IS ‘REALISTIC’
Poland’s right-wing government argues that they have not been fully compensated for the devastation caused during WWII.
Kaczynski insists the £1trillion was “conservatively calculated” and is a “realistic” figure for Germany to pay.
The release of the new report, compiled by economists, historians and other experts, marked a pivotal moment for Poland on the anniversary of World War II.
President Andrzej Duda described the brutality as “one of the most terrible tragedies in our history”.
He added: “Not only because it took our freedom, not only because it took our state from us, but also because this war meant millions of victims among Poland’s citizens and irreparable losses to our homeland and our nation.”
Experts fear the publication of the report alone – which has been repeatedly delayed for over two years – will put tension on the relations between the European nations.
Germany’s government official for German-Polish cooperation, Dietmar Nietan, said that September 1 “remains a day of guilt and shame for Germany that reminds us time and again not to forget the crimes carried out by Germany”.
He added reconciliation offered by people in Poland is “the basis on which we can look toward the future together in a united Europe”.
