Poland’s ruling party picks a fight with Germany
Raising the question of reparations may not be a sensible move
POLAND lost a fifth of its population in the second world war. Vast swathes of Warsaw were razed to the ground and the city still bears the scars. Damage to the capital alone amounted to $45bn, according to an estimate in 2004 by city hall. Yet Poland got nothing in compensation. In 1953, under pressure from the Soviet Union, its communist government renounced any claim to reparations from the then East Germany, ruled by a fellow-communist regime. (West Germany made payments to Greece, Israel and Yugoslavia.)
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Upping the ante”
From the August 19th 2017 edition
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