Tusk: Compensation for Nazi victims in Poland to be paid in 'months'

The compensation announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the victims of the Nazi occupation in Poland during World War II will start being distributed soon, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"This is not a matter of years, but of months," Tusk said in Warsaw after German-Polish government consultations involving ministers from both sides.

Scholz had promised compensation for the approximately 40,000 victims of the German occupation of Poland who are still alive, but he did not say when and how much compensation would be paid.

Tusk described the Scholz's announcement as a step in the right direction. "There is no amount of money that would compensate for everything that happened during World War II," he said.

He acknowledged that in a formal and legal sense, the issue of reparations was closed. Nevertheless, the aid promised by the German government for the victims of the occupation could serve to improve German-Polish relations, "because good gestures are also very important in politics," said Tusk.

The previous nationalist conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) government had demanded reparations totalling €1.3 trillion ($1.39 trillion). Since a change of government in Poland in December, the tone towards Germany has become friendlier.

Tusk said Germany's commitment to security in Europe is currently a key issue. "For me, it is important that Germany is prepared to take on much greater responsibility for the security of the continent, to ensure that there will be no war in Europe," he said.