Germany Shows Poland the Looted Treasures After 80 Years 0 42

The priceless Teutonic archives and a fragment of the sculpture of Saint James the Greater, returned by Germany, have arrived in Poland. Some of the artifacts are on display at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Dr. Pawel Pęczek, the director general of the State Archive, emphasizes that the return of the artifacts by Germany is a historic moment for Poland, society, and archivists.

"After 80 years, we are returning documents of immense historical value, the return of which we have long sought. It is worth noting that the first efforts began almost immediately after the end of the war, and today these 73 priceless parchment scrolls are being returned. We can finally say that they are home, that is, back in the Polish state archives," said Pawel Pęczek.

The returned documents include 73 medieval parchment grants related to Polish-Teutonic relations. During the war, they were taken from the Central Archive of Historical Documents in Warsaw. Some of the lost parchment grants will be exhibited again starting December 19.

The sculpture of the head of Saint James the Greater, stolen from Malbork Castle after the war, has also returned to Poland. Its exhibition at the museum is planned for January.

Earlier, the new president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, during his first official visit to Berlin, received a refusal regarding his demands for Germany to pay reparations for the damage inflicted on his country during World War II. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as before, firmly rejected these demands, emphasizing that this issue is "definitively resolved from Germany's perspective."

After a conversation with his German counterpart, the Polish president also raised this demand during a subsequent one-on-one dialogue with Chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to dpa from government circles, in this conversation, the chancellor confirmed Germany's "final" position. After the negotiations in Berlin, there were no press conferences, which is unusual for such an important partner of Germany as Poland.