German media pundits highlight the need for Germany to take the claims raised by Greece for WW2 reparations seriously and not brush the matter aside.
The Greek parliament discussed the matter last week and came to a cross-party agreement that the claims of reparations from Germany were ongoing and not be abandoned.
In three major German newspapers: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and Neues Deutschland the commentators agree that the issue should not be ignored.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) titles its article: We should not delete the reparations demands due to the arrogance of power.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung writes in its headline, “Aid to Greece is more important than time-consuming lawsuits on reparations claims”, stressing that the claims for reparations, raised by the Greek government are likely to end up in the supreme courts. It will most likely take many years before some kind of verdict on the dispute is reached if one is achieved at all.
The article argues it would be more constructive to use this time for both sides to seek a mutual political convergence.
Neues Deutschland (DE) writes in its title: “The issue of reparations is not closed. Negotiate with the Greeks!”
“The issue of reparations for the Nazi era is not closed. The Germans should respond to the request of the Greek Parliament and negotiate with Greece on this issue.
