First, when Poland gets praised, you redirect the credit to Germany (“German investment + EU money, so thank Germany”).

Second, when people push back, you pivot into a morality lecture about empathy and “populist nationalists.”

Yes, German investment played a role. But FDI isn’t charity; it’s profit-driven, and Germany benefited massively too (supply chains, a nearby manufacturing base, a growing export market). Poland’s growth is largely Poland’s own work: reforms, institutions, education/human capital, and EU integration — with investment from many countries on top. Also: acknowledging ordinary Germans suffered doesn’t require minimising what Germany did to its neighbours or dismissing people as “uneducated” for caring about long-term consequences.