Although a location has yet to be selected, it’s known that the investment will be built in the center of Berlin.

Announced on Wednesday, the approval of the proposal has been welcomed by politicians and diplomats. Claudia Roth, the Minister of State for Culture, paid tribute to the five million Poles that died during the occupation: “Almost every family in Poland lost a loved one, but still this is too little known in our country,” she said.

Continuing, Roth said that the Polish-German House would “fill this gap in our culture of memory.”

She added: “Germany still bears a special historical responsibility when it comes to relations with our neighbor - and fortunately again a close partner - Poland.”

Speaking of the wider geopolitical issues impacting the region, Roth returned to the importance of Polish-German partnership.

First and foremost, the project will commemorate German wartime crimes committed in Poland. However, the investment will also explore the historical relationship between Germany and Poland via appropriate exhibitions. Moreover, the space will also be built with meetings and educational events in mind.

“The German Bundestag will now decide on the implementation proposal,” said a statement.

So far, possible locations that have been mooted include the area once occupied by the Kroll Opera House close to the Chancellery and the Reichstag building. As noted by the Berliner Morgenpost, the implementation of the plan will “probably take years”.

The idea for the project was born in October 2020 with Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs then developing the initial concept with the aid of a German-Polish panel of experts and a political advisory council. In 2022, Claudia Roth assumed responsibility for the project.