Polish President Karol Nawrocki demanded German war reparations at September 1 commemorations in Gdańsk marking the outbreak of World War II.

The dispute revives a cause championed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, which backed Nawrocki’s election, ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election. 

“Reparations and compensation should be paid to Poland — not only for the past, for historical justice, but for the future,” Nawrocki said in Gdańsk.

He urged Germany to finance Poland’s armed forces and defence industry through compensation, reducing the need for Western loans. Nawrocki had earlier blocked the Tusk government’s bill laying out details of using the EU’s mechanism to finance member states’ defence expenditure.

The call on reparations also reflects a broader strategy of nurturing anti-German sentiment, which still runs strong in parts of Polish society, ahead of next year’s vote.

The election in October or November 2027 will pit Poland’s generally pro-EU and pro-Ukraine ruling coalition under Tusk against the right and the far-right, with Nawrocki seeking to lead the effort against the government.

In response to Nawrocki, Tusk – speaking after the president at the same commemoration event in Gdańsk’s Westerplatte, Poland’s former military holdout – pointed to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as responsible for World War II, but stressed that Poland must draw lessons from the isolation of its defenders in 1939.

“Today we must rely on our own strength and on real alliances, not on incantations, not on myths,” Tusk said.

Tusk said Russia, not Poland’s EU ally Germany, is a threat to Europe and urged European governments to keep supporting Ukraine. He also warned that the coming autumn and winter could prove decisive in Ukraine’s war of defence against Russia.

Berlin considers the reparations question legally settled, citing Poland’s 1953 renunciation. Nawrocki and PiS have long disputed the validity of that decision, arguing that Poland was then a semi-sovereign Soviet satellite state. 

A 2022 report by the PiS government valued wartime losses inflicted by Germany at $1.3 trillion (€1.1 trillion).

The ceremony marked 87 years since Germany invaded Poland. Sirens sounded at 4.45 am at Westerplatte, where Polish troops resisted one of the early German attacks of the war. Nawrocki and Tusk laid a wreath together before delivering their speeches.