The Polish authorities on Tuesday abolished the put up of the coordinator for Polish-German relations after the workplace holder, Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, reportedly proposed a seminar that may focus on Poland returning cultural objects to Germany.
That touches a sore nerve in Poland, the place there was a decades-long effort to get again huge quantities of artwork and different cultural artifacts plundered by Germany throughout World Conflict II.
“As of August 5, 2025, the place of the Ministry of International Affairs Plenipotentiary for Polish-German social and border cooperation, held by Prof. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, has been abolished,” the International Ministry wrote on X on Tuesday night time.
Ruchniewicz is a historian and the director of the Pilecki Institute, a analysis middle centered on the destiny of Poles who skilled authoritarianism and totalitarianism within the twentieth century.
The institute stated that the article in regards to the seminar by the Rzeczpospolita newspaper contained ““quite a few slanders and untruths” and that no assembly resulting in the return of things to Germany was deliberate.
Nonetheless, the story brought about an outcry from the opposition nationalist Regulation and Justice get together, which demanded that the federal government fireplace Ruchniewicz.
Knut Abraham, Ruchniewicz’s German counterpart, stated on Wednesday he was shocked by the Polish motion. “I used to be in Warsaw just some days in the past and spoke with [Ruchniewicz], together with about our joint work, and I’m actually shocked that this place has been abolished,” he stated to German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
The function of the coordinator was purely consultant and aimed to strengthen relations between Germany and Poland. It additionally aimed to help the Polish authorities in dialogue with Germany on historic coverage, as each international locations collaborate on constructing a memorial home for Polish victims of the Nazi period in Berlin.