FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Witold Waszczykowski, Poland's foreign minister, said "serious talks" were needed with Berlin to discuss "unresolved issues" over the conflict. The country has received "no compensation" for the war crimes committed by the Nazi regime between 1939 and 1945, he added. Mr Waszczykowski estimated the country's material losses at £766bn, but said the figure could be even higher.

He told a Polish radio station: "We should sit down to serious talks with the Germans and together think about how to deal with the issue. "We have to answer this question. The issue was left neglected for 70-odd years. "How can we deal with the fact that Germany's 1939 attack and unresolved post-war issues still cast a shadow on Polish-German relations? "The fact is that Poland was destroyed during the war, terrible crimes were committed here and we have received no compensation for that."

GETTY Witold Waszczykowski urged Germany to pay Second World War reparations

Angela Merkel in pictures Tue, August 8, 2017 Angela Merkel has served as German Chancellor since 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. We take a look at her political career in pictures. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 83 Angela Merkel through the years

The minister said the Polish government was still "preparing" its formal position on the issue. He claimed the matter of reparations was "beyond dispute morally", but in legal terms was "ambiguous for various reasons". Polish authorities dropped reparation claims against Germany in 1953. But Warsaw now disputes the validity of the resolution, insisting it was struck under the diktat of the Soviet Union.

GETTY The minister claimed the matter of reparations was 'beyond dispute morally'

Adolf Hitler's decision to invade Poland in 1939 triggered the start of the Second World War. Six million Polish citizens, including around three million of Jewish origin, were killed under Nazi German occupation. Several cities, including Warsaw, were destroyed, while key cultural artefacts including paintings and sculptures were plundered.

GETTY Germany's Angela Merkel has insisted the question had already been resolved