ABSTRACT
Poland's takeover of German territories after the war immediately spawned disputes over the treatment of German refugees from Poland and the status of the Germans who stayed. The Polish government agreed to examine individual cases, but rejected a general plan for mass repatriation. The German communists, along with the other German parties, rejected reparation payments to Poland. Recurring disagreements over trade illustrated that national interests were still paramount in the thinking of the Polish and East German communists. In August 1945, the Soviet Union and Poland signed a reparation agreement promising Poland everything from machines to works of art. In April 1953, Polish Foreign Ministry official Maria Wierna told the new East German Chief of Mission Anne Kundermann that the last transport of Germans would leave in June. Polish officials dropped hints about unforeseen political repercussions should the German Democratic Republic not meet its obligations.
