“No material settlement in the form of reparations was made, nor were the Poles murdered in Auschwitz rehabilitated. So if we want to talk about some form of reconciliation, we must start with the rehabilitation of Poles murdered in German camps,” says Prof. WPolityce.pl. Bogdan Musiał, Polish historian living in Germany.
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wPolityce.pl: How would you assess the “Polish-German House” initiative, which will be launched in the center of Berlin? Is this a form of compensation, a settlement for World War II crimes, or perhaps something intended ‘in lieu of’ reparations?
Prof. Bogdan Musial: This topic has been around for a long time. Initially the intention was to build a Holocaust Victims Memorial there, but now the initiative has apparently been given a slightly different name.
They certainly wanted to emphasize the positive aspects. National Socialism? It was bad, it was bad, it was messy, but after 1945 everything is beautiful. In the official story of Germany after World War II, there was reconciliation, Willy Brandt’s famous kneeling, we overcame common hostility and all is well.
Germany probably hopes that the new government will also adopt this narrative of overcoming hostility.
The whole problem with this story is that it doesn’t match reality. This is just propaganda. Because the Germans also consciously distort post-war history. Reparations are, of course, a form of material compensation. But the Germans also protected Nazi criminals from criminal liability. In other words, they did not take into account what they had done in Poland in any form.
And to such an extent that the Poles murdered in Auschwitz are still rightfully convicted and murdered under German law, and that the criminals are innocent. Such statements were made in the Federal Republic of Germany. Acquittal sentences for German criminals. To this day, these cases have not been resolved. Germans avoid this and it is official state policy. German law considers the murdered Ulmas guilty of violating this law to this day. The Jews they saved can be rehabilitated, but the Ulma family cannot. And this is just one of many examples. None of the Poles murdered in Auschwitz were rehabilitated. Victims of the Holocaust – of course there were more and this must be emphasized – were rehabilitated on a lump sum basis, and in addition Germany also made financial settlements with Israel and the Jewish communities in the US. For better or for worse, it was done.
In the case of the Poles, however, no material settlement in the form of reparations was made, nor were the Poles murdered in Auschwitz rehabilitated. So if we want to talk about some form of reconciliation, we have to start with the rehabilitation of Poles murdered in German camps.
Moreover, I can guarantee that this issue will not be discussed in the Polish-German House, because the Germans will not admit it. For some reason they have no knowledge of it, they don’t want to know about it, they have pushed it out of their memory. Even when they talk about Auschwitz, the Germans say that Jews were murdered there, but not that Poles were murdered. From 1970 onwards it was no longer possible to prosecute German criminals for the murder of Poles. This is how they made their law. They granted amnesty for it. And this was done by the SPD led by Chancellor Willy Brandt, who knelt at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes.
This case refutes the myth of German modernity and moral reckoning. They don’t want to talk about it at all. This is just a game.
The initiative was prepared by historians: Agnieszka Wierzcholska and Robert Parzer. As they write in “Die Welt”, one of the goals of the “Polish-German House” is to “break stereotypes”. What stereotypes should be broken through this initiative, which should focus mainly on the period of the Second World War?
There is a very strong stereotype in Poland that the Germans have settled the scores for the crimes of World War II. But this is a stereotype implemented by German propaganda and German historical policy. This is not true, but a stereotype. I would like to see this done fairly and based on facts. However, I exclude such a solution, because German historical policy is precisely aimed at defining the period of National Socialism as ‘Nazi’ and not as ‘German’, and later, after 1945, a modern, open democracy became , an exemplary Western democracy, established. .
And if we look at the facts, we will see that it is no coincidence that American troops are stationed in Germany. Not to protect the Germans from any danger, but to protect Europe from the Germans.
Second, according to German historical policy, Germany was liberated in 1945. Yet Europe was liberated from Germany. The goal of German policy will always be to drive the United States out of Europe. That is why the alliance with the Kremlin has always been so important for Berlin. Whether it was Putin, Brezhnev, Khrushchev, Stalin or Gorbachev, they all had the same goal: to drive the United States out of Europe. This is a long-term policy, although it is left out of the narrative of a “glorious, democratic” Germany.
But all you have to do is look at their dealings with Putin. After 1945, the Germans mastered the game of appearances to perfection. This is one thing you have to give them.
And the Polish-German House will be part of this fantasy game?
Precisely. We will learn that things used to be messy, not very nice, but after 1945, and when Willy Brandt of the SPD went down on his knees, everything was wonderful. This is not true; it completely ignores the fact that the SPD and Chancellor Schmidt supported martial law. This is an old story, although it has been left out of textbooks and supposedly scientific German publications.
German actions in this regard are no longer even historical policy, but propaganda. And when it comes to this initiative, I do not believe in the honesty of these statements. This propaganda is so ingrained in German cultural DNA that they have probably come to believe in it themselves. Because it is more convenient for them.
Thank you very much for the interview.
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Source: wPolityce