“Germany should consider reparations” – this opinion was expressed in an interview for the interia.pl portal by the German politician Dietmar Nietan (SPD), coordinator of Polish-German affairs in the German government, who, however, was not afraid to show his arrogance in the matter of compensating Poland for its war losses. The interview shows – in the context of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, which has been going on since February 2022 – the mistakes Berlin made not only towards Moscow, but also in building its own defences.
German mistakes towards Russia
It seems to me that most German politicians are aware of the serious mistakes the Germans have made with regard to the Kremlin, especially with regard to the possibility of Russia using Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2 as a geopolitical weapon. This ultimately weakens all of Europe if Germany is so dependent on Russian gas
says Dietmar Nietan at the beginning of the conversation, adding that “influential politicians are now seriously trying to learn from these mistakes.”
However, the coordinator of Polish-German affairs in the German government argues that these mistakes are being noticed by his SPD group. In contrast, “the other major German party, the CDU, which was in power for 16 years and produced a chancellor, shows no such self-criticism.”
Angela Merkel, who ruled for 16 years and is responsible for the investment in the construction of Nordstream 2, today does not see or admit the fundamental mistakes she made at the time.
– say.
When asked why he ever talked about disarming instead of rearming and seeking dialogue on the issue of global security, Nietan explains that he has a poor understanding of the Russian Federation.
It started pulling out of disarmament deals like Open Sky and the like. Therefore, there is currently no basis for cooperation with Russia in the field of disarmament. I think it is important to continue to strive for global disarmament and to prevent more and more countries from gaining access to nuclear weapons.
– explains.
Bundeswehr
Nietan does not hide the current disastrous state of the German armed forces.
Throughout the 16 years of the grand coalition, and also during the CDU-FDP coalition, the Ministry of Defense has always been led by representatives of the Christian Democratic Party. During this period, the Bundeswehr became less and less able to act. Military equipment, for the most part, was becoming less and less useful from year to year
he admits.
It was therefore right that the Chancellor now invested €100 billion in a special fund to equip the Bundeswehr at the highest level, guaranteeing the fulfillment of our duty to defend the country and our obligations to NATO. […] The lessons we have learned about the Bundeswehr are the realization that freedom comes at a price, including better equipment of our military. This award also includes spending significant resources to support Ukraine by providing weapons and other resources. The struggle there is not only about the freedom of the people of Ukraine, but also about our own freedom.
he adds.
Eastern politics of Germany
Another mistake of Germany, admitted by the coordinator for Polish-German affairs in the German government, was to develop an eastern policy in Berlin and Paris, bypassing the countries of this region, “with partners from central and eastern Europe, especially with Poland being the largest country in this region in the EU”
It was an inappropriate attitude and a serious mistake. This is also one of the reasons why we are currently in a difficult situation
– the German politician does not hide.
We emphasize that we need a new eastern policy, but not as a national policy for Germany, but as an EU policy. Central and Eastern European countries should have the main voice in its development, not Germany or France
he adds. They will also notice that German-Polish relations are not good at the moment.
If German and Polish politicians, instead of overcoming their differences, mutually weaken Germany and Poland, they miss the chance of a common European future. In America they say “first things first”. Now it’s not about Germany and Poland constantly fighting, but about fighting together for Ukraine, for its EU membership, and rebuilding Ukraine together once the war, we hope, is soon over
– judges.
Reparations for Poland? Nietan: “The goal is to show the rationale for PiS’s anti-German policy”
Faced with the accusation that PiS, which mainly wants to settle the issue of reparations, is bouncing off the wall and will bounce back for a long time, because the position of Germany, and not only those in power, has remained unchanged for years, the German politician rejects this topic and claims that “authors associated with PiS, who commissioned the reparations report and participated in its writing, realized from the start that regardless of who held power in Germany, there would be no formal reparations on any part of that country.
The coordinator of Polish-German affairs in the German government also accused Poland of “this report also fulfills other functions”.
The aim is to show voters why there is good reason to pursue anti-German policies and to show that some of the opposition is not as sharp as PiS on this issue. […] On the other hand, we have a purely formal position from the German government, according to which we are not obliged to pay damages in purely legal terms
says Nietan, adding that the legal position of the German government is correct and there is no remedy before an international court or anywhere else.
What instead of reparations?
Nietan adds his “but” to this arrogant statement.
I believe Germany should consider the issue (of reparations to Poland – editor’s note). I am grateful to the opposition in the Sejm for including many paragraphs in the reparations resolution that deal with compensation. Because recovery also means that Germany must allocate many billions of euros to a future fund for the reconstruction of culture, goods that Germany destroyed
– say. But how does he imagine that? Here, unfortunately, the German politician failed to hide his German arrogance in relation to Polish expectations.
It should become an investment fund in modern air defense for Eastern Europe, protecting not only Poland, but also other countries of Central and Eastern Europe against Russian aggression from the air. […] The Polish government must decide whether to fight a hopeless battle to the bitter end for formal, real reparations, or find a way with Germany to get Berlin to talk about a different form of reparations.
– he adds, claiming that instead of war reparations for Poland, a tribute to Poland could be the construction of a memorial to Polish victims of World War II in Berlin and support for learning Polish in Germany.
I am also dissatisfied with the fact that the Federal Ministry of Education has so far failed to implement the decision of the Bundestag Budget Committee to allocate resources to support the learning of Polish as a mother tongue. As you can see, I can be self-critical of myself and my government
Dietmar Nietan values herself.
The statement that Germany should consider the issue of reparations and that the war damage was done by the Germans, not the Nazis, does not cover the words that Poland cannot count on formal reparations from that country, and that the genocide of Poland during the world war II, the enormous destruction, the razing of the Polish capital, the looting of all kinds of Polish goods, etc. The Germans want to compensate for this with reconstruction funds, a defensive air shield over Central Europe and a monument. With such statements, full of arrogance and misunderstanding of the enormous damage done to Poland and Poland, Dietmar Nietan joins the outgoing German ambassador in Warsaw, Thomas Bagger. In an interview, Nietan claims that “he has always publicly advocated ending Germany’s cavalier attitude, i.e. cutting off the subject, about reparations to Poland.” As you can see, he himself showed his arrogance.
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arr.rdm/interia.pl
Source: wPolityce