Germany will return valuable artifacts looted during the Second World War to Poland, local media reported Sunday.

A meeting on Monday to discuss Polish-German cooperation will include the “historic return of cultural goods looted during World War II,” according to local news website Onet.pl. The Polish side described the return as having “groundbreaking character.”

The artifacts are said to include a sculpture of a saint’s head stolen from Malbork Castle, a royal residence in northern Poland. The items reportedly also include documents from the Teutonic Order — a Catholic brotherhood of crusading knights active in the Middle Ages.

Warsaw had been asking for the return of the Teutonic Order archives since 1948.

During World War II, countless Polish artifacts, including historical archives and works of art, were looted by Nazi Germany.

The issue has long caused tensions between the two........

© The Times of Israel