Germany, Poland mark 35 years of post-Cold War ties at Berlin forum

Germany and Poland marked the 35th anniversary of their historic friendship treaty at a forum in Berlin on Wednesday, with several historical objects set to be returned to Warsaw decades after the end of World War II.

The event in the German capital came hours before Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was due to sign a defence agreement with the NATO ally in Warsaw.

The German-Polish Forum drew 700 participants to Berlin, including German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski.

"Mindful of the tragic history of the 20th century, we bear a special responsibility for our region and our continent as allies in NATO and partners in the European Union," Wadephul said. 

He called for cross-border infrastructure and travel connections to be expanded, assisting personal contacts and the economy, but also defence if necessary.

"Together, Germany and Poland form the backbone of European defence and NATO’s deterrence against the Russian threat," he added. "Whoever invests in German-Polish railway tracks is also investing in friendship and defence."

Sikorski further noted that Polish investment and acquisitions in Germany are increasing.

Ex-ambassador honoured as gold ring returned

Janusz Reiter, the first ambassador of post-communist Poland to Berlin, was honoured at the forum for his outstanding contribution to German-Polish understanding. 

The Frankfurt-Słubice Cooperation Centre was also recognized for its educational work on both sides of the Oder River, which forms the border between the two countries.

Also at the forum, Germany handed over a historic ring belonging to the Polish monarchy that was stolen during World War II, with Polish Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska on hand to receive it.

The gold ring, set with a 3.5-carat diamond, dates from the 16th century and is believed to have belonged to King Sigismund I of the Jagiellonian dynasty. 

"Eighty years after the end of World War II, cultural property looted during the war and the occupation can now be returned to Poland in close cooperation with the custodial institutions and the Polish authorities," said Wadephul.

The ring was taken from Warsaw to the village of Sienawa shortly before the German invasion of Poland in 1939. There, German troops looted the collection. In 1963, the ring was donated to a museum in Pforzheim, near Stuttgart.

Pforzheim Mayor Peter Boch, described the return as an act of historical responsibility. “We see this step as a sign of respect and friendship towards our Polish neighbours,” he said.

A medieval manuscript containing part of the text of the old Polish anthem ‘Gaude Mater Polonia’ is also returning to Poland from the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin. 

In addition, model trains and accessories belonging to the Warsaw Transport Museum, but which had been stolen from there in 1940, were returned after being traced to the collections of the German Technology Museum in Berlin.

Far-right agitator stopped by police

German-Polish relations have improved considerably in recent decades, but reparations for Germany's war crimes during World War II remain a sticking point between Berlin and Warsaw.

An estimated 5 million Polish people were killed by Nazi Germany during the war, including around 3 million Polish Jews in the Holocaust.

In December, the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, passed a motion to create a permanent memorial in Berlin to Poland's World War II victims. 

The move came after a provisional commemorative stone was unveiled last June at a site near the Chancellery in the German capital to pay homage to the victims.

On Tuesday, the Polish far-right agitator Robert Bakiewicz caused a stir in the German capital after attempting to erect a cross at the site of the future memorial without police approval. 

Six people were reportedly detained by police.

Pistorius heads to Warsaw

German Defence Minister Pistorius is to sign the German-Polish defence agreement on Wednesday in Warsaw. It emphasizes both countries’ integration into NATO and the EU and reaffirms their commitment to mutual assistance, the German government said.

The two countries also intend to cooperate more closely on the development of military capabilities and within the defence industry. Joint exercises are planned as well.

The German government official responsible for ties with Poland, Knut Abraham, said the deal was "a very important sign of increasingly close cooperation in the military sphere, but also in security policy more broadly."

He told German public radio station Deutschlandfunk that the agreement would underscore the mutual assistance obligations that both countries have entered into through the NATO alliance and the European Union. 

Abraham said that German-Polish relations remain strongly shaped by the German occupation during World War II. “Even though tremendous progress has been made in recent decades, it is history that makes this relationship unique,” the conservative politician said in an interview on public broadcaster ARD.

The events coincide with the 35th anniversary of the 1991 German-Polish Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation, which cemented ties between post-communist Poland and the newly reunified Germany.