Germany Prepares to Return Cultural Assets Stolen from Poland During the War
As ThePublic.info reports, citing information from the Polish outlet Onet, Germany intends to return part of the historical artifacts stolen during the war to Poland. These include 73 parchment manuscripts of the Teutonic Order from the Main Archive of Old Records in Warsaw, as well as a fragment of a medieval sculpture — the head of Saint James the Greater.
The return of these items is expected to take place during interministerial consultations in Berlin, scheduled for Monday. This gesture is considered one of the most significant developments in recent years in Poland’s effort to recover cultural heritage lost during the war.
The archives were seized by the Nazis during World War II, and Poland began efforts to reclaim them as early as 1948. The collection will also include a 14th-century sculpture fragment — the head of Saint James the Greater, which was stolen after the war, in 1957, from the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Malbork.
Government Consultations
According to ThePublic.info, the consultations will take place on December 1 in Berlin. The participants will include Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and ministers from both countries. The Polish delegation will also include Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, as confirmed by MFA spokesperson Maciej Wewior. Among the topics of discussion will be current international issues, including the situation in Ukraine.
Reparations Issue
It should be recalled that during the rule of the Law and Justice party, Poland demanded more than one trillion euros in postwar reparations from Germany. Berlin repeatedly rejected these claims, stating that the matter was already legally settled.
The current Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, elected this year, has decided to raise the issue of reparations once again, emphasizing that it is necessary for maintaining good neighborly relations between Warsaw and Berlin. However, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier reaffirmed Germany’s stance that the reparations issue is closed.
