“The Germans are unfortunately resilient, but I have the impression that this is also due to such attitudes. They see that there are circles in Poland that directly or indirectly support them, so why “fool” them, since, as they see, some Polish elites, if we can call it so pompous, are against reparations, so decided that they would use this voice and say: ‘If there are Poles who don’t want this, why are we going outside the line at all?’, says Tadeusz Płużański, historian and president of the “Łączka” Foundation, journalist and publicist, to the wPolityce.pl portal.
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wPolityce.pl: On its social media profiles, Platforma Obywatelska decided to commemorate the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, writing that it “commemorates the fallen in the unequal struggle for a free and independent Poland.” It’s just that we won’t find out who this unequal fight was with, and what’s more, the entry was accompanied by images generated by AI and featuring soldiers in unmarked uniforms, walking around the ruins of an unspecified city. Is anyone here afraid to say that this was a war started by Germany, or at least by “Nazi Germany”?
Tadeusz Pluzanski: It doesn’t surprise me, because such strange stories happen from these communities every now and then. After all, this is not the first time, as we remember the famous statement by the President of Gdańsk that World War II started by “the bad word of a Pole against another nation.” On the other hand, if we remember how the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk was built, when one entered the first room, “Polish guilt”, “Polish anti-Semitism” was immediately exposed and the whole museum presented a . message. that some universal forces struggle with each other, that we are dealing with a timeless battle between good and evil. Only, of course, it is not known which side the Poles are on and which the Germans. Not to mention the lack of figures like Irena Sendler or Captain Witold Pilecki.
The Museum of European History in Brussels was created in a similar way. There, too, the subject of the Second World War was treated as a battle between good and evil, and of course it is not known who represents the forces of good and who – evil, who attacks, who defends himself, who is the torturer and who is the hero.
Unfortunately I’m used to it. And yet we can add to this various Onet publications from recent years, such as ‘poor Germans who had a sad Christmas’ and ‘hard work’ in general.
It’s bizarre and I don’t know if it’s just political correctness or a misunderstanding of Polish history, tradition, lack of Polish sensibility, or something more, a desire to show off in front of the Germans, to submit to the Germans.
I do not understand such attitudes and I believe that it is certainly not allowed to represent history in this way, because it is a falsification of our national history, which we should be proud of. Of course there were different moments, different periods, but this does not mean that we should praise others and side with the Germans – especially when we celebrate the anniversary of their attack on Poland. It’s a kind of curiosity.
In connection with the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, representatives of the Polish government also return to the question of Germany’s reparations. Minister Piotr Gliński appealed to Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk to stand in solidarity with the United Right and support Polish efforts to obtain compensation owed to us.
Of course, Donald Tusk will not be in a common line. Both the leader of the PO himself and representatives of his party, such as Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, have maintained almost from the beginning that reparations are not due to us. The former chairman of this group, Grzegorz Schetyna, argued in September 2022 that the case of reparations was presumably closed in 1953 with the waiving of compensation by Bierut’s government. On the one hand, it’s nothing new under the sun, but on the other hand, it’s just as embarrassing every time, it hurts just as much, that this is an attitude and a constant tendency.
It seems a bit as if the Polish history, the Polish raison d’être, the Polish good name, including financial reward, were completely foreign to these circles, because there is no doubt that Poland has suffered on many levels and in many dimensions from the WWII. . We were murdered, imprisoned in camps, deported to forced labour, and our land drained by the Germans who got rich at our expense. Therefore, many of their companies are still thriving and outperforming Polish companies. The whole context is important here, because we are not only talking about September 1, 1939, but also about all the consequences of what happened then. And they continue to this day.
Is there any chance that Germany will change its stance on reparations?
The Germans are unfortunately resilient, but I have the impression that this is also due to such attitudes. They see that there are circles in Poland that directly or indirectly support them, so why should they “fool” if, as they see, part of the Polish elite, if we can call it so pompous, is against reparations, so they decided that they would use this voice and be able to say: “If there are Poles who don’t want this, why are we going outside the line at all?”.
So only a common, united front of all political circles in Poland, the agreement between the government and the opposition on reparations, could ensure that Germany has no choice but to finally respond positively to the Polish reparations efforts?
It should go without saying that in important matters – and this is what the Germans have been preparing for us since September 1939, as we understand it and if we can draw conclusions from it – the political elites unite over division.
If someone says on September 1 that nothing actually happened and that the blame lies on both sides, or perhaps on the Polish side, then he is testifying himself and unequivocally placing himself on the side of the aggressors: Hitler, Ribbentrop and today the day on the side of the aggressors. side of Chancellor Scholz or other German politicians and the German state in general.
Thank you very much for the interview.
READ ALSO:
-How did World War II start? Deputy Dulkiewicz: “In the beginning there was a word (…) It was a bad word from a Pole against another nation”
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-Minister Gliński appeals to Tusk. It concerns reparations from Germany. “This is a matter of Polish raison d’être, national interest”
– Difficult question for Tusk: “Do you mind Poland getting reparations?”. What did the leader of the PO say? He attacked… Law and Justice
Source: wPolityce