Polish parliament calls upon Germany to acknowledge WWII reparations

The Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, passed a resolution on Wednesday urging Germany to accept political, historical, legal and financial responsibilities for starting World War Two.

The resolution was an initiative of MPs from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, and was supported by 418 MPs, with four against and 15 abstentions.

In the resolution, the Sejm "calls upon the government of the Federal Republic of Germany to unequivocally accept political, historical, legal and financial responsibility for all the consequences endured in the Republic of Poland and to Polish citizens as a result of starting the Second World War by the German Third Reich."

"The Sejm of the Republic of Poland declares that the properly-represented Polish State has never waived its claims against the German State," the resolution reads. "There are no grounds, either moral or legal, to maintain that the claims have been lawfully withdrawn or have expired."

The reference to a "properly represented" state implies that the lower house considers Poland's post-war communist government, which may have waived reparations, as illegitimate.

A report detailing Poland's losses resulting from the German invasion was presented on September 1, the 83rd anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two. According to the report, Germany should pay Poland PLN 6.2 trillion (EUR 1.32 trillion) in compensation for destruction caused by the war.

The German government has said that the issue was closed owing to Poland apparently renouncing war reparations in 1953.