German-Polish House – Memorial in Berlin to Polish Victims of WWII Germany

The German government has approved the establishment in Berlin of an institution that will commemorate Polish victims of Nazi Germany. It says that the enormous suffering of Poles under German occupation is still not well known among Germans today.

The “German-Polish House,” as the project is known, will “create a memorial site for the victims of Nazi Germany’s occupation of Poland, shed light on the centuries-long history of intertwining between Germany and Poland, and provide a space for education and encounters in the German-Polish context,” wrote the German government.

Almost six million Polish civilians — around half of them Polish Jews — are estimated to have died as a result of the war. That represents 17% of Poland’s pre-war population and was the highest proportional death toll of any country during the Second World War.

The German occupiers also laid waste to many Polish cities — including the capital, Warsaw, which saw around 85% of its buildings destroyed — and plundered or destroyed much of Poland’s cultural heritage.

The focus of the permanent exhibition of the German-Polish House will be the “tremendous brutality of the German occupation of Poland,” reports the Tagesspiegel daily. But it will also draw attention to relations in earlier centuries and the current ties between the two societies.

German Culture Minister Claudia Roth, who was responsible for developing the plans, yesterday said that the German-Polish House, which is to be located “in the heart of the capital,” will “advance remembrance for a common future for Germany and Poland as close partners in a strong, united Europe.”

Read more about this project in Notes from Poland.

Coincidentally, the Wall St. Journal reported last week that Poland and Germany are now teaming up against Russia:

“The former World War II foes — both of whom see Moscow as their biggest security threat — pledged to increase their military coordination from procurement to training, reinforce the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military presence near Russia, and better coordinate their assistance to Ukraine.