Historian, Professor Bogdan Musiał has stated that „Germans created a system in West Germany after its establishment that protected criminals from punishment.” He cited the fate of executioners from the Auschwitz concentration camp, saying that „out of approximately 10,000 members of the camp staff, only 42 individuals were brought before courts in West Germany, and only a few were sentenced to life imprisonment, but were quickly released.” Musiał stressed the importance of recalling these facts, and believes that the recent announcement of the creation of the Institute of War Losses by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is a „very good idea.” He believes that such an institution should have been established by 1991 or 1992, adding that „perhaps by now, we would have had knowledge about the war losses, and, importantly, about the consequences of that war.”
According to Musiał, in Poland „people are not aware of how much the German occupation cost us and what losses we have suffered.” The losses were not only caused by „what Germans call war activities.” After the war, Germany systematically destroyed Polish infrastructure, and Polish elites were murdered. „This was systematic killing for racial reasons, and to this day German state has not been held accountable for this,” said the historian.
Musiał added that „in Germany, these German crimes against ethnic Poles are not considered to be war crimes and have never been prosecuted by the German 'justice system’. Germany, in fact, developed a system to protect these criminals.” According to Musiał, Germany was able to institute „Willy Brandt’s kneeling as a symbol of his reckoning.” Musiał reminded that the last regulation that protected German criminals from punishment came into effect during Brandt’s time.
„How many of us know that out of about 10,000 camp staff in Auschwitz, only 42 individuals faced justice in West Germany? A few dozen individuals received minor prison sentences, and a few received life sentences, which were of course quickly suspended. This is not even symbolic,” he said. „Actions speak louder than words. And the actions were such that these criminals were protected, and that was in the German constitution. There are two articles that were deliberately introduced to protect German criminals from punishment or from extradition, for example, to Poland,” explained the historian.
Musiał noted that Germany is „now emphasizing that they have failed to settle accounts. This is not true. Their program was to protect these criminals. A party that advocated for the prosecution of crimes would not have the opportunity to govern because too many Germans were involved in these crimes, through family or friendship ties with the executioners. The German Church, the Catholic one especially, which was silent during the occupation, was able to protest against the extradition of criminals to Poland. Look at the letters of protest they wrote! How many letters were written by pastors or bishops speaking out on behalf of murderers?”
„Let us not forget that it was Germany that gave Polish territory to the Soviets,” said Musiał. „So, in a way, Germans are also indirectly responsible for Soviet crimes and losses caused by them. Without German help, the Soviets would never have occupied Poland. There was no such possibility. But Germany has no clue about this and does not want to know. On the contrary, in Germany, there is a sense that Poles profited from Jewish and German property,” he concluded.
Source: PAP