Don’t open “Pandora’s box” of WWII reparations, German ambassador warns Poland

The outgoing German ambassador to Poland, Thomas Bagger, has admitted that his country’s support for the Nord Stream pipelines bringing Russian gas to Germany “was a mistake”.

But in an interview with Polskie Radio, Bagger also warned Poland not to “open Pandora’s box” by pressing its claims for $1.3 trillion in war reparations from Germany and expressed regret that the Polish government’s hostile “tone” towards Berlin is hampering cooperation.

“Nothing is easy in Polish-German relations apart from misunderstandings,” said Bagger, who has served as ambassador to Warsaw since July last year. Many of these difficulties, he added, stem from the two countries’ “completely different historical experiences”.

“After a year spent in Poland, I can say that in no other society that I have been able to get to know does history play such an important role as here,” said the ambassador, adding that, while he understands why this is the case, it can be problematic.

“History is and will remain relevant, but when you’re behind the wheel, you can’t just look in the rearview mirror,” he argued. “Remembering the past, you should have your face turned towards the future. And this is something I miss in the Polish debate…Constantly looking back can distort the perception of the present and the future.”

One such issue that Bagger was asked about is the Polish government’s ongoing efforts, launched last year, to obtain reparations from Germany for the losses it caused Poland in World War Two. Berlin has consistently argued that the issue is legally closed and has rejected discussions on the issue.

“From the point of view of the German government, everything has been said about reparations,” the ambassador told Polskie Radio. “The position of the federal government remains unchanged.”

“As members of the European Union, we are living in a different paradigm, and this topic is a Pandora’s box and it is better for everyone, for Europeans, that this box remains untouched,” he argued.

“Germans understand that they must take the pain and emotions of Poles related to World War Two seriously,” he assured. “But that is a different matter, not opening Pandora’s Box. Nothing good would come of this for Europe. And a united Europe is our future, not only the future of Germany, but also of Poland.”

On the subject of a united Europe, Bagger argued that, despite some tensions, the visions of the EU promoted by the Polish and German governments are not incompatible, and in fact “intersect”.

Berlin, like Warsaw, supports the expansion of the bloc to include Ukraine as well as the countries of the western Balkans and Moldova. However, this will require rethinking existing EU policies, something that Bagger admits is a challenge given that “Poland and Germany often have completely different visions in this area”.

Here the interviewer, Olga Doleśniak-Harczuk, pointed out that in the past Germany has pushed through its will even against the opposition of other EU countries, giving the example of the Nord Stream II pipeline, which was strongly opposed by Poland.

“The EU will never be a conflict-free space. Rather, it is a method of peacefully balancing the interests of its members,” replied Bagger. “Which does not mean that all decisions made in this way are right, I am the last one to say that the Germans always made the right decisions. Nord Stream II and Nord Stream I were a mistake.”

“Poland tries to push through its position, and so does Germany,” he continued. “One can, of course, criticise German actions, but in the end it all comes down to working out compromise solutions that will be acceptable to both sides.”

Asked to summarise the current status of Polish-German relations, Bagger said that, while they operate well at the local level and in terms of economic and cultural links, there are problems “at the political level”.

“The Polish government sometimes expresses a tone towards Germany which, to put it diplomatically, is unmatched among the allies and partners of the European Union, which means that these mutual political relations remain below their capabilities,” he said.

Bagger argued that these tensions are particularly frustrating because, “looking at the changes that are taking place in Germany’s policy on key issues, I must admit that Germany’s view of the world and Europe has come closer to the Polish one…We have common interests that unite us”.

The ambassador’s remarks echo those of his predecessor, Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, upon leaving his post last year, when he said in an interview that it is hard to tell whether Poland’s government wants Germany to be an “ally” or a “scapegoat”.

While Bagger soon arrived as his replacement, last month it was revealed that he would return to Berlin to become secretary of state for political affairs at the foreign ministry. That came shortly after the ambassador had publicly criticised Poalnd’s defence minister for accusing Germany of financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Main image credit: MKiŚ (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.