Poland calls for Germany to pay reparations

Germany paying reparations is of fundamental importance and is a matter of dignity for Poland, a deputy foreign minister told the dpa news agency on Tuesday.

Arkadiusz Mularczyk, who is also head of a parliamentary team dealing with reparations, said Poland wanted to negotiate with Germany over the costs arising from the war and occupation but would go to the international arena if Germany wouldn't sit down to talk.

According to a report by the Polish government in September examining the material and human destruction in Poland by Nazi forces from 1939 to 1954, Germany owes Poland EUR 1.3 trillion.

The Polish foreign ministry has sent a diplomatic note to Germany demanding compensation for the war losses.

The reparation issue is of fundamental importance for Poland. Mularczyk told dpa in Berlin that this is not just a political matter, but it is also a matter of Poland's dignity.

He said that the Germans have a choice: either they sit down to talk with Poland or we will press the issue on all international platforms - in the UN, the Council of Europe, and the European Union.