The massive flooding, which began in mid-September, has claimed at least nine lives in Poland and left a trail of destruction across Central and Eastern Europe.

Speaking in the northwestern Polish city of Szczecin during the 25th anniversary of the NATO Multinational Corps Northeast, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Berlin is sending 120 Bundeswehr troops to Poland to assist with flood recovery efforts.

The German army will help with infrastructure repairs and cleanup operations, he added.

The mission is initially expected to last eight weeks.

A politician from the SPD party, part of Germany’s ruling coalition, said that Warsaw had asked for assistance, reported Germany’s private news network n-tv.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had earlier said that German territorial forces would support Poland in dealing with the flood’s aftermath.

Reassuring Poles that the Germans – the nation that invaded Poland in 1939 - are this time only coming for assistance, Tusk said: “If you see German soldiers, please do not panic. This is assistance, so that there is no doubt.”

Tusk, who leads Poland’s current multi-party coalition, is often criticized by the country’s right-leaning parties, including the former ruling Law and Justice party, for his alleged pro-German stance.

His words once again divided the public opinion, with some claiming they were inappropriate given the shared Polish-German history, while others saying that 85 years since the invasion is long enough to bury the hatchet.