“If Berlin wants to transfer the money — you’re very welcome! We will even grant a discount if the money is received by the end of the year,” Sikorski said, and then added: “But seriously: money is a difficult issue in times of war and crisis.”
Instead, the foreign minister suggested that the German government give a “visible sign” that Germany acknowledges the damage to Poland during the occupation, such as “a documentation center, a center for dialogue that recognizes the suffering of the Poles and is also a memorial.”
He added: “There could also be a second visible sign, for example by the Germans rebuilding one of the buildings they destroyed in Warsaw, perhaps the Saxon Palace.”
He further suggested that the Germans “could also finance medical care for survivors” or “invest in the defense capabilities of our countries so that we can defend ourselves together against Putin.“
“The Germans have a fragile memory,” Sikorski said. “They know about the Holocaust and remember the blockade of Leningrad and Stalingrad. But they have forgotten what they did to the Polish civilian population.”
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