At a joint press conference with the head of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock in Warsaw, the head of Polish diplomacy spoke about yesterday's diplomatic note on war reparations from Germany.
"The government I represent, yesterday asked the German government to solve this problem and to provide for a fair, comprehensive, material and legal regulation of the harm and losses suffered by Polish citizens and the Polish state as a result of World War II. We are very much counting on good cooperation in this respect with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Cooperation, which should create a model example of overcoming the consequences of illegal use of violence in international relations," - said Zbigniew Rau.
Annalena Baerbock took the floor.
"Yesterday we saw on TV that there was a letter on the way to Berlin (diplomatic note - ed.). I think it is better that we could talk about it in person today. You already know the attitude of the federal government on this issue. Germany feels its historical responsibility without any limitations. Our eternal task will be to remind about the suffering of millions that Germany caused Poland. They did it in a brutal way, which caused quite different suffering in Poland than in other places, with the campaign of oppression, Germanization, and destruction. We must also pass this memory on to young people in Germany, maintain this memory" - said Baerbock.
"At the same time, the issue of reparations from the federal government's point of view is closed," - she added.
Rau answered her:
"It's hard to disagree with that. Undoubtedly, we also have a shared responsibility towards past, present and future generations. Thus, I am convinced that the position of the German government on this issue will evolve as a result of the dialogue, if only because no one in Germany, nor anyone in Poland - including you Annalena or me - can indicate a moral system or a legal order, in which the perpetrator of the crime would be able to independently determine the scope of his guilt, but also the scope and time of his responsibility" - emphasized Zbigniew Rau.
"I believe that this belief binds us together and it was in this belief that we took up this issue in our talks," - he added.
