The demands come during the anniversary week of the start of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. The operation by the Polish resistance was intended to liberate Warsaw from German occupation, but instead resulted in the deaths of up to 200,000 Poles and the near destruction of Warsaw as Nazi forces captured the capital.
During a speech to commemorate the victims on Monday, Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said the Germans should “pay back the terrible debt they owe to the Polish people.”
The reparation analysis, which could see Poland receive cash compensation from Germany for its losses, was launched the following day, though the head of the Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said last week the “Polish government is preparing itself for a historical counteroffensive.”
“We are talking here about huge sums, and also about the fact that Germany for many years refused to take responsibility for World War II,” Kaczynski told a local radio station at the time.
The claims have found support among Polish people. During a Legia Warsaw football match Tuesday, fans unveiled a flag denouncing the deaths of tens of thousands of children
