The German mass daily ‘Bild’ this week waded into the sensitive issue of WWII reparations demanded by Greece from Germany, as well as Athens’ long-standing claim for compensation of a forced loan pilfered by occupying Nazi forces in 1942.
New Greek PM Alexis Tsipras cited both issues in his policy statements address to Parliament on Sunday, where he referred to a “a moral obligation to history and to all who fought against fascism and died doing so.”
In response to comments, the German newspaper examined the basis of the Greek demands, focusing on a treaty signed in 1960 by then German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer with the Greek government, an agreement which supposedly settled the matter.
“However, the reparations (offered via this treaty) did not include the forced loan taken by the Nazis from Greece in 1942, totalling 476 million reichsmarks at the time, an mount which is valued at 11 billion euros today,” Bild wrote, adding:
“Hence the Greek demands, as the …. agreement did not settle the matter decisively.”
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