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Rak, Krzysztof
2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
The dispute over the restitution of works of art
The German government is demanding the restitution of works of art that remained in Poland after the Second World War. Mariusz Muszyński and Krzysztof Rak see this as a setback for the German-Polish policy of reconciliation that has been conducted since the 1990s. "For Poles who know their history, this demand for the return of cultural assets sounds cynical... Many of the current problems between Warsaw and Berlin arise from the fact that the Polish side has shown too much political naivety and not enough determination. This is why the victims of National Socialism have not received true compensation, but only a modest donation 'ex gratia' (i.e. out of pity). And Germans are still making property claims. By demanding the return of cultural assets the Germans are trying to force the Poles to foot yet another bill for the Second World War."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Cultural Policy, » Germany, » Poland
All available articles from » Mariusz Muszynski
Germany from a Polish perspective
The weekly's title page features a picture of German Chancellor Angela Merkel as "Europe's stepmother" and the Kaczynski twins sucking at her bare breast. It is intended to caricature relations between Poland and Germany. In the leading article Mariusz Muszynski, the commissioner for Polish-German relations in the Polish Foreign Ministry, and Krzysztof Rak take a bleak view of the current state of Polish-German relations: "Germany, once our most important partner in the West and our advocate, has become our prosecutor. The crisis in Polish-German relations has become as profound as to make this diagnosis entirely justified. The problem in our relations with Germany is the latter's inability to treat Poland as a genuine political partner. Unfortunately Germany's perception of Poland is changing only very slowly. Opinion polls confirm this. Germany needs an eminent politician who can rid the country of its superiority complex and convince his compatriots of the need for this. Unfortunately there is no sign of such a politician so far."
» more information (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » EU Policy, » Germany, » Poland, » Europe
All available articles from » Mariusz Muszynski
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