Poland's nationalist-conservative government could claim as much as $20 billion in compensation from Germany for the destruction of its art treasures during the Nazi occupation, in what is becoming a growing dispute between the countries as Polish parliamentary elections approach, officials in Warsaw said Tuesday.

The latest dispute, one of many that have led to a sharp deterioration in relations between Warsaw and Berlin since the Polish government was elected nearly two years ago, linked the destruction of Polish art treasures by Nazi Germany to attempts by Germany to recover art it had transported to eastern territories in what is now Poland to safeguard it from the Allied bombing of German cities.