Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki gave a lecture at the Ruprecht and Charles University in Heidelberg, Germany. In his speech ‘Europe at a historical turning point’, Morawiecki touched on the history of Poland and Germany and their mutual relations.

“We have been neighbours for more than 11 centuries. We lived next to each other, we solved problems together – not just next to each other, but together. We founded the first universities at a similar time – in Kraków in 1364 and here in Heidelberg (in 1386). Many Poles came from German areas and had family contacts with Germans, and vice versa. Today, Poles and Germans work closely together economically, which makes our countries dependent on each other. Poland is Germany’s fifth largest trade partner, soon to be in fourth place. Russia, on the other hand, is only in 16th place”, stressed the Prime Minister.

The head of the Polish government also mentioned reparations, the situation after the war and decades of losses, when Poland could not develop normally because it was on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

“Poland did not receive reparations for the destruction, the stolen goods, including various types of cultural items”, said the Prime Minister. He added that reparations were needed to reconcile perpetrators and victims at this crucial moment. 

Mateusz Morawiecki also spoke about the importance of Europe for Ukraine and the importance of the struggle of Ukrainians for Europe.

“The defeat of Ukraine would mean the defeat of the West, the defeat of the entire free world. It would be a defeat greater than that of Vietnam. After such a defeat, Russia would feel unpunished, strike at other countries and the world would change – a time of unpredictability would come. Such a defeat, just as the appeasement in the 1930s encouraged Hitler to act, so now the defeat of Ukraine would encourage Putin to continue to act, would make him fear nothing”, noted the head of government.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński