Polish Survivors Seek Direct Help From Germans As 50,000 Age

Fifty thousand survivors of Nazi persecution still live in Poland.

These individuals include former concentration camp inmates, prisoners, and those who endured forced labor. Most are now older than 90. Many face serious illness and rising costs of living.

Victims' organizations sent an open letter to German civil society on November 5. They asked for humanitarian support to bridge the gap until official aid arrives. The letter was published by the Foundation for Polish, German Reconciliation. It was distributed in three languages.

The groups warned that delays could leave help arriving too late. The German government acknowledges a moral duty. However, it has not yet decided on federal reparations. This stalemate has pushed the organizations to seek funds from private citizens, businesses, and foundations.

War compensation has strained relations between the two countries for decades. After 1989, Berlin provided 500 million deutschmarks to Holocaust victims. The EVZ Foundation also paid former forced laborers. Poland estimates its total war losses at 6.2 trillion zloty. The right-wing government demanded this amount from Berlin in October 2022.

The center-left administration under Donald Tusk took office in December 2023. Warsaw dropped the specific monetary figure. It now seeks a creative solution. Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Poland is looking for a resolution. Germany's former Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered 200 million euros in 2024. Tusk rejected that sum as inadequate.

Berlin promised to analyze options in a December 2025 declaration. By September 2026, officials said no decision had been made. The current draft budget reflects this uncertainty. Franziska Brantner, co-chair of the Greens party, said the budget committee rejected her group's request for funding. She hopes the coalition will change its mind during the final review.

A 25th-anniversary survey found that 53% of Poles believe Germany does not acknowledge their suffering enough. Only 18% think Berlin has done enough. A previous appeal in May raised more than 35,000 euros. That money provided one-time assistance to several people. Foundation chairman Jakub Deka called the amount small but useful.

Jerzy Tarasiewicz died in late September at age 84. He led a victims' association in Gdansk. Born in 1942 on a German farm, he served as a long-time advocate. In a January interview, he said the Germans were waiting for survivors to die. Deka said Tarasiewicz's death shows that victims can no longer wait for government action.