News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]

Turns out that going for quick success on the battlefield in order to impress Trump may not have been the best long-term strategy.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


And before that the area was settled by Germanic tribes. Your point?

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


The disagreements start where you pick a start date to support your argument.

The Romans have founded a lot of cities in Europe. Is Cologne an Italian city because it was founded by the Romans? Claiming a city as your own because it may or may or not have at a certain have belonged to a country or what qualifies as its' predecessor many centuries ago is stupid. What matters is what people live now there and how they identify.

Constantinople used to be a Roman city, now it is a Turkish city. Stettin used to be a German city and is now a Polish city. That is all there is to it.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


It does. He has made it clear that referendum could only be held after Russia agrees to a ceasefire.

Meanwhile this year ends with a big and embarasing defeat for Russia

ISW: Russian milbloggers finally admit Ukraine's gains in Kupiansk sector and accuse military of misleading the top leadership

euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/25/isw-russian-milbloggers-finally-ukraines-gains-in-kupiansk-and-accuse-moscow-of-misleading-top-leadership-maps/

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


Who is still shocked about anything the Russians are doing at this point?

Strikes at critical infrastructure (as long as they are targeted not in a way to cause as many civilian casualties as possible) are legal.

However the Russian attempts to make the Ukranian cities inhospitable for civilians will likely be used by the prosecution as further evidence in their case against Russia for attempted genocide. Whether or not that is a compelling argument will be up to the courts to decide.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


Of course not. Why would it be?

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


Certainly less successful than most comparable attempts to undermine support for Ukraine in other European countries.

Reminds me how the Stasi tried to stir up antisemitism and tarnish the reputation of West Germany by smearing swastikas on the gravestones of jewish cemeterys across West Germany.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]


I'd say that score is 50/50.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]

Tomorrow there'll be a meeting in London between Starmer, Macron, Merz and Zelensky. Just noticed that Poland will not be present. Out of curiosity, is that something has been noted in Poland? I do know that Scholz was criticized for not inviting Tusk to a similar meeting last year.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 27 [798]


The horrors of war aside, many of them will come back to poor regions in which they'll be lucky to get a job that earns them 1/10 of what they received while in the army.

Many veterans of the Afghanistan war and Chechnya turned to organized crime later. Having many battle-hardened, ruthless killer with bad employment opportunities is a recipee for disaster.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


I am familiar with international law, which admittedly is not always logical. And international law is very clear on this matter. Poland waived its reparation claims, confirmed the waiver multiple times, Germany considered the matter closed as a consequence and Poland agreed, until it did not. Poland has however failed to come up with any convincing argument as to why their old position was the correct one.


Why a government makes such statement is irrelevant.

The real reason why the Polish governments made those statements is because they considered getting a confirmation of the Oder-Neisse-line as their top priority, with the prospect of further reparations being unrealistic anyway, so they considered waiving any future reparation claims as a necessary sacrifice. Now that Poland has those confirmations, is in the EU and feels secure about their borders, some reckless politcians have discovered that this topic for domestic purposes.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]


What is so strange about this? Russia is in our neighbourhood, diplomatically speaking, with Kaliningrad being only a couple of hundreds of kilometers away.

"Neighbourhood" in diplomatic terms doesn't just include countries that share borders, but ones that are either part of or border a geographic region, political body and so on.

The EU neighborhood program includes countries like Georgia that do not share a border with any EU country.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Neighbourhood_Policy

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]

@Ironside


"Rumors" that have been confirmed as valid by successive Polish governments. Sorry, but arguing that several Polish governments have somehow failed to notice that this waiver never existed are not not believable.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


I am not sure about that. China's history is full of rebelllions, uprisings and Civil wars. The Taiping rebellion killed more people than WWI.

The Chinese went through like 6 different Imperial dynasties while the Habsburgs rule the Holy Roman Empire and Austria.


And also much harder to defend itself against non-Europeans, while also fighting each other.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


The Chinese were more than just that. Sure the majority were farmers like you describe, but they they also had a small middle class. Big beautiful cities, a sophisticated bureaucracy, miles ahead of anything we had in Europe at the same time. It is mind-blowing to read up on Chinese history and learn about the splendor of the Chinese Emperors, while European kings lived in pitiful, small castles.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


Just pointing out that nothing is set in stone, including our prosperity and safety. And we can already get an idea of the challenges ahead, with Russia trying to bring imperialistic conquest back to Europe and rising countries like China trying to achieve economic dominance.

If you read the papers of Chinese intellectuals, they often refer back to the past while describing their vision for the future. Back to the long history of China being the largest economy of the Earth, up until the Industrial revolution. They view the time of European imperialism as a brief, historical exception to the rule. The same counts for e.g. India.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


Maybe. Though then again, "far away" is relative. Most Germans live in closer geographic proximity to Bruessels (or Strasbourg) than Berlin.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


So instead they paid to their local rulers without receiving the same compensation (peace, infrastructure, trading opportunities). Archeological evidence that living standards declined significantly after the Roman Empire fell.

It took more than 1000 years until former Roman cities in Germany or other parts of Europe were able to match the Roman splendor again.

You had whole generations of people living in e.g. what is now France or Spain who never had to live in fear of soldiers threatening their life and property. All those advances were suddenly gone.


True. Every member should defend the EU, because every member benefits from it.

We can already see what the alternative would be right now. Non-Europeans in the form of Trump and Putin making arrangements over the security of Europe without European involvement. The next step will be to fully exploit us economically, without the bargaining power the single market provides us.

The USA as a guarantor of European security will be gone soon. The threat of Russia will remain. China is looking to pay us back for the "century of humiliation". Other powers will also rise. While there will come a time within decades when no single European country will be among the 10 biggest economies.

We shouldn't take our prosperity for granted. Europe used to be a poor, divided, war-stricken continent for most of its' history. We can easily revert back to this state of being if we are not careful.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


Indeed. And in hindsight people would wonder how the contemporaries allowed for such a magnificent entity to fail.

There have been points in history when the costs of keeping the current order alive seemed too much for the people in charge to bother. So they let it die while thinking that the new order would be better suited to their wishes, with the result being the opposite.

Was Europe a better place to live in after the Western Roman Empire fell? Was it beneficial when the Polish Commemwealth got partitioned?

Is the EU perfect as it is? No, but it is still the best shot the Europeans at preserving their influence and prosperity in a changing and increasingly hostile world.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


If I do it, no. If the Polish government however does or has done it repeatedly, then yes it changes the legal reality. Even if the waiver was supposedly initially invalid according to Polish law, successive Polish governments confirming its validity has made it so.


They don't have a leg on to stand on right now, legally speaking. They have turned a closed legal issue into a moral one and have constructed some legal arguments to give it more legitimacy.


Yeah, and Germany should ask France for reparations for the 30-years war or the wars of Louis XIV....

But that goes to show that there is no reasoning with such people. Some people are just happy feeling resentful and unfairly treated. All one can do is ignore them, the sane ones are going to get around in time.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


Because as I explained, the case has been legally closed for many years now.

Multiple Polish governments have confirmed the waiver and its' effect. That is beyond dispute, even if you try to downplay it.
There was never any doubt about it's validity until PiS discovered the reparation issue as a way to rile up domestic support, more than 60 years after Poland had waived any claims towards reparations. PiS has now seemingly put a lot of money and effort in trying to prove otherwise, but if your post is a good indication of what they came up with, it is not nearly enough to overturn the precedence set by more than 60 years. I mean really, this is ultimately the argument? "Our governments got it wrong for the last 60 years and we get it right?"


Hardly. For one, PiS has ruled for 8 years and used this as a sledgehammer while Russia invaded Ukraine and threatens Poland. But other than poisening relations, it has done absolutely nothing with it.

And even assuming Germany settled the reparation issue (again) with a Tusk government and agree to pay symbolical amount (maybe 1-10bn).

What would that solve or change? It wouldn't improve the legal position, since the issue had been settled years ago anyway. Germany would benefit in no way from it, and in return other countries might see this as an opportunity to seek reparations from Germany as well (because after all, if a closed case like this one can nevertheless be reopened, why couldn't others be opened again?).

PiS would use this as another example of Tusk selling out to Germany, blame him for getting only pittance (because anything Germany could realistically offer is a pittance compared to what Pis claims). And since PiS has no compunction about disregarding past settlements and views from previous governments, it would also inevitably find a way to "prove" that this settlement wasn't valid either. I mean the narrative is obious, the Polish government in 1953 who bowed to the Soviets, Tusk who bows to Germany and Bruessels... . Traitors who acted against Poland's interest, as opposed to PiS.... .

All we can at this point is a) offering some symbolic gestures like the ones I proposed and b) counting on time and the threat of Putin to put this issue to rest once again.

In a few years, the last surviving victims of WWII will have passed on. Poland will have become one of Europes' most prosperous countries and (hopefully) the threat of Russia will still be felt, but will not have caused more victims. By then the notion of claiming reparations will appear as ridiculous to most people as would be the claim to redraw the German-Polish border appears to most people now.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


This is not true. The waiver has been confirmed by several Polish government, the last time in 2006.

Legally speaking, this is an open and shut case, like I explained.

There is nothing to reopen from a legal point or view here. However like I said, it may be right from a moral point of view to make some symbolical reparations.

News / AfD politician: Poles are land-stealing n*ggers [191]


That is actually not true. The waiver in question is perfectly valid from a legal point of view.

Whether or not the Soviet Union applied pressure on Poland is inconsequential. There is no "duress" in international law that could invalidate agreements, treaties and so on. Otherwise most peace treaties would be considered void as well, if they were signed after putting (military) pressure on one side.

The waiver was subsequently confirmed by successive Polish governments as valid, the last time in 2006. Compared to that, whether or not it originally adhered to the constitutional laws of the People's republic is inconsequential in international law.

notesfrompoland.com/2024/07/08/majority-of-poles-want-government-to-seek-war-reparations-from-germany/

So yeah, legally speaking the matter is closed.

I think it would be wise of Germany to offer some symbolic reparations, e.g. further compensation for surviving victims or the restauration of some representative buildings that have been destroyed (e.g. the Saxon palace). But then again, PiS has poisened this debate so much that anything Germany could realistically offer would be considered as pittance compared to the amount it supposedly owns in reparation. And I fear it is only a matter of time until the AfD discovers this topic for themselves. It is all a folly, considering there is a very real war ongoing in Europe right now.

News / Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 26 [1183]


And yet he dedicates so much time and ressources on imprisoning and/or killing anyone who is even remotely looking like he could become a popular figure of the opposition.

The man "wins" an election and then feels the need to let his agent conduct a complicated assassination attempt on Nawalny using a weapon of mass destruction.


And why would he? He and his cronies simply take what they want directly from the treasury.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]


I don't. I just pointed out that Schäuble took a more moderate position in the discussions as compared to many of his counterparts from Eastern Europe. That he was often singled-out as the one being unduly harsh on the Greeks was always unfair, but given his prominent position probably inevitable.

It is a real shame that Schäuble died a few years ago, since his advice was greatly valued by Merz. And in those difficult days ahead of us, Merz could certainly do with good advice.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]


He was mostly concerned with how the Greeks were jeopardizing the future of the EU and the Euro with their conduct, particulary the Tsipras government.

Worth remembering that he was still more sympathic towards the Greeks than many politicians in Eastern Europe, who used to complain that they were asked to provide guarantees for a country that still offered its' citizens higher social benefits and pensions than they did for their own.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]


True. So far the pressure is not big enough to really change things here. In large parts because the crisis is still not really felt amongst the Germans. Most of which are still relatively well off and the government was able to cover up most holes in the budget with its' record spending.

And like I said, a big crisis can be a chance to modernize. There are plenty of states and empires who failed to do so and declined.

To their credit, the Greeks seemed to have used this opportunity. Whether or not they would have done so without outside pressure is another question.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]

Sometimes a big crisis can be a chance to modernize.

And to give the Greeks credit, they used this opportunity very well, even if it was forced on them.

Greece used to be one of, if not the least organized and outdated states in the EU. Now they have modernized so much that few states in the world can e.g. offer their citizen such efficient public services. Much less res tape now (and paperwork almost exclusively digitally). And that from a state that 10 years did not even have a comprehensive overview of all the landowners and people who owned a house... .

They also seem to have sufficiently reformed their pension systems. Something most European countries still lack the determination and political will to so.

News / Karol Nawrocki - the New President of Poland [495]


The similiarities are certainly astonishing.


While simultaneously securing his voting base amongst the rural elderly by giving them generous pension payments which are not feasible in the long-term. All of Europe is facing a demographic crisis in the future, but the situation in Hungary is especially worrysome. The system Orban is heavily dependent on EU funds to keep working. And it is only a matter of time until that ends. Either because the other EU countries get fed up with him, or because the money will be needed elsewhere.

Just a reminder, Hungary is now the poorest EU country.

dailynewshungary.com/hungary-officially-poorest-country-eu/

How different Poland has developed in the meantime.

Orban has made his country poorer, older, less influential in Europe and his conduct towards Kiev and Moscow has been disgraceful and harmful for Hungary's future.

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]


Yeah, right.

Polish right-wing MP douses Jewish menorah with fire extinguisher

Grzegorz Braun was kicked out of the parliamentary session for his stunt

politico.eu/article/grzegorz-braun-poland-parliament-jewish-hanukkah-menorah/