After Germany paid compensation, Poland is contemplating claims against Russia as well. This stance was reported by the Financial Times through remarks attributed to Marcin Przydacz, who leads the International Policy Bureau at the Polish Presidential Cabinet. He indicated that Warsaw believes a dialogue with Berlin could open the door to broader discussions, potentially paving the way for similar conversations with Moscow once progress is made with Germany.
The Kremlin declined to comment on Przydacz’s statements. Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press secretary, refrained from responding, saying that no comment would be provided on such statements that he described as unclear.
Germany and Poland: stalled dialogue and ongoing demands
Poland continues to press Germany for compensation tied to the harm caused during the Second World War. Warsaw estimates the compensation could reach about 6.2 trillion zlotys, roughly 1.3 trillion dollars. In April, Poland accepted a resolution acknowledging that the question of payments needed a resolution following Germany’s invasion in 1939.
Polish officials have explained that the plan to resolve the dispute does not hinge on the Polish People’s Republic or on a post-1989 sovereignty arrangement, and they point out that the relevant historical documents concern the era around the German occupation and the German state structures of that time. German authorities, however, have indicated in the past that discussions on reparations would not proceed, noting a 1953 settlement that Poland argues was reached under pressure and under circumstances that Poland contests.
Poland maintains that the agreements referenced pertain to the German Democratic Republic and the Polish People’s Republic, not to a modern, sovereign Poland. Despite repeated statements that Berlin is unwilling to renegotiate, Poland continues to raise the issue, with several public comments each year reiterating the demand for compensation. In January, the Polish Foreign Ministry warned that a refusal to engage could affect Germany’s international standing.
Polish officials have argued that Germany presents itself as a moral authority on human rights and international law, yet the insistence on addressing the legacy of the war remains a source of tension. Polish leaders have asserted that the war inflicted extensive losses, including the loss of millions of Polish lives, and that the burden of memory should be acknowledged in some form of reparative redress. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has emphasized that the issue is both legal and historical in nature and suggested that a lasting resolution could potentially mark a turning point in contemporary German-Polish relations.
Last year, Warsaw submitted a detailed three-volume report outlining Poland’s losses attributed to the Nazi invasion and occupation during the six years of war. The weighing of Poland’s wartime damages remains a central aspect of the broader dialogue on accountability and historical memory between the two nations.
Calls for compensation from Russia
Alongside these discussions, Polish lawmakers have urged consideration of compensation from Russia for its role in the war. In September of the previous year, President Andrzej Duda endorsed this line of argument. He argued that Russia had joined the conflict and should be held financially responsible for the damage it caused, expressing confidence that a compensation case could be pursued.
In October, Poland’s Foreign Ministry announced the preparation of a report detailing the military damage attributed to the Soviet Union. The ministry stated that the study would mirror the approach used for documenting Poland’s losses during the German campaign and occupation from 1939 to 1945.
Russia has repeatedly opposed such efforts, with diplomats characterizing attempts to rewrite the history of World War II as unacceptable. A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the idea of revising the historical record, describing the proposals as an attempt to distort the past.
Across both fronts, Polish officials stress that the questions surrounding wartime losses remain a priority in political discourse, reflecting deep-seated concerns about accountability, memory, and the long shadow of past conflicts that continue to influence contemporary diplomacy.