German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addresses guests during a Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) Rosh Hashana reception, on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, on September 17, 2025, at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. (John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

Germany to return Nazi-looted artifacts to Poland at diplomatic confab

Delegation led by Merz set to hand back saintly bust and crusader manuscripts, in move expected to smooth over long-held tensions with Poland over valuables looted during WWII

by · The Times of Israel

Germany will return valuable artifacts looted during the Second World War to Poland, local media reported Sunday.

A meeting on Monday to discuss Polish-German cooperation will include the “historic return of cultural goods looted during World War II,” according to local news website Onet.pl. The Polish side described the return as having “groundbreaking character.”

The artifacts are said to include a sculpture of a saint’s head stolen from Malbork Castle, a royal residence in northern Poland. The items reportedly also include documents from the Teutonic Order — a Catholic brotherhood of crusading knights active in the Middle Ages.

Warsaw had been asking for the return of the Teutonic Order archives since 1948.

During World War II, countless Polish artifacts, including historical archives and works of art, were looted by Nazi Germany.

The issue has long caused tensions between the two countries, with conservative-nationalist Polish politicians, including President Karol Nawrocki, demanding reparations from Germany.

Poland’s new president, Karol Nawrocki, with his wife, Marta Nawrocka, shows a V-sign during the inauguration ceremony in Warsaw, Poland, on August 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Nawrocki, a right-wing historian who won office in August 2025, flirted with antisemitism during his campaign, vowing to fight “all the disgusting attacks” on Poland by Holocaust scholars. He had also promised to end Poland’s tradition of lighting Hanukkah candles in the presidential palace.

Monday’s meeting in Berlin will involve Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the Polish ministers of foreign affairs and defense, according to the Office of the Federal Chancellor.

The leaders plan to discuss security issues, including the war in Ukraine and cooperation between the governments. Poland’s foreign ministry did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on Sunday.

Poland has laws prohibiting hate speech and Holocaust denial, but it has long grappled with its role in the Holocaust and how it is memorialized.

A 2018 law made it a civil offense to accuse “the Polish nation” of responsibility for crimes it prefers to blame completely on Nazi Germany, which invaded Poland in 1939, despite substantial evidence of Polish collusion.