On Thursday, Lublin City Council unanimously passed a resolution on reparations, reparations and compensation for the losses Poland suffered as a result of the German invasion and subsequent occupation.
In the resolution, the council members pointed out that Poland suffered the greatest personal and material losses of all countries attacked by the Third German Reich during World War II.
These losses resulted not only from military operations, but above all from the German occupation policy, in particular the deliberate and organized extermination of the population in the occupied territories of the Polish state, and from the intensive exploitation of Polish society, including forced labor and deliberate destruction of property and cultural heritage
it was written.
The city of Lublin also suffered great losses as a result of the German invasion and the plundering policy of the German occupiers
– is the resolution.
Massive destruction
When listing the losses resulting directly from the bombardment of Lublin on September 2, 9, 13 and 17, 1939, the following was indicated: destruction of houses, commercial premises, streets, Plac Litewski, Lublin Cathedral, damage to the town hall building, the barracks of the 8th Legions Infantry Regiment, the railway station and railway infrastructure, Sugar Factory and Refinery “Lublin” and its infrastructure (e.g. railway lines), as well as damage caused by the bombing of the Lublin Aircraft Factory.
As mentioned, during the shelling of the city during the defense on 15 and 16 September 1939 and the German occupation, a large part of the city surrounding the castle was destroyed. Losses due to the subordination of the entire economy of Lublin to the German state, incurred as a result of the deportation of inhabitants to Germany for forced labour, looting of museum exhibits and works of art from Lublin’s libraries, schools and universities, as well as from private collections, and looting of residents’ private properties are also listed. Reference was also made to the losses from the Battle of Lublin in July 1944.
The councilors also recalled that Lublin lost about 50 thousand. inhabitants: civilians who died during the bombing of Lublin, employees of the Lublin Aircraft Factory, a large part of the intelligentsia, the Jewish population, people who performed forced labor and politically oppressed people.
Councilor support
The councilors expressed their support “for actions aimed at obtaining compensation from Germany for Poland for the damage caused as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War by the Third German Reich”. They referred to the resolution of the Sejm of 14 September 2022 calling on the government to demand compensation for war damage caused by the Germans during World War II and the resolution of the Council of Ministers of 18 April 2023 on the need to regulate in Polish -German relations: the issue of reparations, compensation and compensation for the losses Poland and Poland suffered as a result of the illegal invasion of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent German occupation.
The council members also required the chairman of the council to forward the resolution to the State Department.
A call to local governments
In early August, the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, appealed to local authorities for support for government actions to demand compensation for the damage caused by the German aggression and occupation in 1939-1945.
According to the report published on the institutestratwojnych.pl website, a total of 5,200,000 Polish citizens died during World War II solely as a result of the activities of the German state and its organs.
PLN 6 trillion 220 billion 609 million – this is the valuation of the Polish war losses suffered as a result of the German aggression.
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.