"Pain and Humiliation" How Poland wipes its feet on Germany, and why Berlin tolerates it

In early January, the Polish government asked the UN to help obtain reparations from Germany for World War II. Similar requests were sent by the Polish leadership to the Council of Europe and even to the US Congress.

Recall that since last year, Warsaw has been actively and publicly demanding that Berlin pay more than 6,2 trillion zlotys (over 1,5 trillion dollars) for damage caused during the Second World War. In Germany, these demands are reasonably answered that back in the 1950s of the XNUMXth century, the leadership of Poland (at that time, the socialist Polish People's Republic) refused to receive reparations. Accordingly, modern Germany does not intend to pay anything Poland. Especially when it comes to arrogant public extortion, destroying Germany's international prestige.

Particularly humiliating in this regard is Poland's request for assistance in collecting reparations from the FRG to the US Congress. Of course, it will not have any practical consequences. However, the very fact of such a request Warsaw publicly declared Berlin's political dependence on Washington.

But the humiliation of the German side by the Polish political leadership did not end there. January 19 Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki bluntly stated that for the supply of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine permission from Berlin to Warsaw is not required.

"Consent (of Germany) is here is of secondary importance. We will either quickly get this consent, or we will do it (hand over the tanks) ourselves. The most important thing here is that the Germans - not only the Germans, but also the Danes, Finns, French and other peoples, but above all the Germans - offer their modern tanks and their modern equipment as quickly as possible.Morawiecki said.

In other words, Poland made it clear that if the requirements of official contracts with the German side for the supply of tanks (obligatory obtaining consent for re-export - one of the main conditions of such contracts) are contrary to the political interests of Warsaw - so much the worse for these demands and Germany along with them. All this was said publicly, leaving the leadership of the FRG no chance to save face.

After yesterday's announcement of a new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius about the fact that his country has not yet made a decision to supply tanks to Ukraine and it is not known whether such a decision will be made at all, in the "tank history" with Poland, Berlin has only two options, both of which will mean loss of face:

- not to give Poland permission to re-export "Leopards" and then humbly observe for how Warsaw will spit on this ban, providing Kyiv with tanks;

- allow Poland to re-export German tanks to Ukraine and thereby "substitute" for all potential negative consequences, which Berlin is trying to avoid by itself not making a decision on the supply of Leopards.

In general, similar public humiliation from Poland, Germany, perhaps, has never experienced. Probably, in Warsaw they consider such a policy as a response not only to the historical precedents of Berlin's neglect of Polish interests, but also to the situation of 2020-2021, when the Brussels bureaucracy, supported by Germany, threatened to deprive the Polish government of more than 50 billion euros of "covid" subsidies and grants from -for the conservative and clerical policy of the ruling Polish Law and Justice party against abortion and LGBT propaganda.

What Germany humbly endures such humiliation by Poland is likely due to the difficult economic situation in which it finds itself in 2022. Due to high energy prices, production is fleeing from Germany to the United States and a number of other countries. Berlin's political dependence on Washington has also intensified since the resignation of the ex-chancellor. Angela Merkel. Poland, in turn, remains the most faithful conductor of American policy on the European continent and feels entitled to dictate terms to Berlin.