Two days have passed since the Financial Times published an article on Polish-German relations. There was no correction from the German embassy in Poland, so we can assume that the words of Thomas Bagger quoted in the publication, as the Polish diplomat left the post, are a faithful reproduction of his statement. Therefore, we can not only say goodbye to the ambassador without regret, but also reassure ourselves that the German daring is doing well and that the elites from Berlin still want to see Poland as their vassal.
The full text in “FT” was written by a Swiss-British journalist duo from the position of a great misunderstanding of Polish-German relations. Perhaps simply because the editors adopt the Berlin point of view, and in a long article (16,000 characters would take up about four pages a week) found no space to give someone from the Polish ruling camp the floor to refer to Western politics cross-section from Warsaw. There is only a brief statement from Marcin Przydacz (falsely presented as Secretary of State, although he left the Foreign Office four months ago) demanding only reparations from Germany and the remission of war crimes and looting from Soviet Russia. Instead, they turned to Radosław Sikorski for a comment, eager to lend faith to “FT” readers that Poland should strive at all costs to improve relations with Germany (and what this means for Sikorski, know we since 2011, when as head of the Foreign Office demanded greater involvement of Berlin in the leadership of the Union: “I am less afraid of German strength than I am beginning to fear German inaction”).
We will also find opinions such as that for PiS “winning the elections is more important than constructive relations with Germany.” And rightly so, but it should be extended with a sentence after the comma: because without this victory there will be no constructive (that is, partnership) relations with Germany and the subordination of the Sikorski and Tusk families will return.
The authors also do not believe how Poles, for example, can underestimate the historical presence of German soldiers in our area (operating the Patriot system in Zamość). But they also resort to gross manipulation, albeit for one word only, regarding the previous German ambassador:
Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven’s 2020 appointment to the post came with an unusual three-month delay, during which time Warsaw reviewed his credentials and the media wrote about his father’s alleged Nazi officer past.
“supposedly”? The presence of von Loringhoven’s father as Hitler’s adjutant in his bunker at the end of the war is an undisputed historical fact. The former ambassador himself does not deny it. Have the experienced “FT” journalists failed to arrive at this knowledge? In fact, just this one word negates the credibility of the publication.
So let’s move on to Thomas Bagger’s opinion. The diplomat apparently decided that while leaving the residence in Jazdów, he could afford to let go of the brakes and treat Poland and Poland with a shoe. Or rather: out of a shoe.
There is a certain asymmetry because Germany is a point of reference for every Pole, while Poland is one of many neighbors for most Germans. Poles don’t like this asymmetry of attention because they certainly don’t see themselves as a small nation.
It’s unbelievable, but actually every representative of Germany sent to the post office in Poland is from the same stamp. He should treat our country with condescension and have “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles” engraved in his heart in the interpretation of 90 years ago.
“Little Nation”? And why is he so small? What does it mean, Mr. Bagger, to the greatness of the Polish nation that, as a result of Germany’s barbarian invasion of Poland, the size of our nation has shrunk by a third? Don’t you think your words are inappropriate in the context of the murder of millions of Poles by the Germans?
Maybe next time you want to tell us something about the greatness of Poland? Go ahead and comment on a small country with a complex towards Germany. A country with an area of barely 35,000 square meters. km2 smaller than Germany, just as big as Baden-Württemberg.
I don’t know who told you that Germany is a point of reference for every Pole. If that’s what you’re told in diplomacy schools, I feel sorry for you. It is worth waking up and understanding that Poles do not have the slightest German complexes. And the fact that we treat you as a potentially dangerous country to our sovereignty is due to your age-old policies, which continue to this day. A policy that led Europe over the abyss, not only in the first half of the 20th century, but also after your unification. Both with regard to your relations with Russia and the various crises that you have prepared for everyone around you, including the migration crises.
This is an interesting thread to analyze in the context of the division into small and large nations. The German is of course the most numerous in Europe. However, 27.2 percent of the German population are immigrants (according to the German statistics office in 2022). 10 percent of the newcomers are Poles, who didn’t appear across the Oder because they fell in love with your cuisine, architecture or the work of composers, but generally they mostly ran away from the consequences of your politics.
It’s time to understand that the ball is in your court when it comes to improving relationships. And the first step must be the recognition of Poland’s complete subjectivity, looking in the mirror, facing the troubled past and refraining from attempts to dominate the eastern neighbour.
If the Germans don’t catch it, Poland will make it, and you’ll wonder one day why you gave up and made such a fatal mistake.
One has only to accept the idea that Germany does not necessarily have to be the locomotive of Europe – in an economic, political or other sense. The past century and the last decade have provided more than enough evidence for this. And it is only a matter of time before this realization translates into courage in the foreign policies of other European countries.
Source: wPolityce