Posted on 03/30/2005 11:37:59 AM PST by Grzegorz 246
The Jewish property left in Poland on the eve of World War II is today worth more than $30 billion, according to a comprehensive report drawn up at the request of the Israeli government.
The estimate does not include communal buildings and facilities held by the various Jewish communities in different parts of Poland. The report was drawn up by experts from the government, the business sector and non-profit and non-governmental organizations.
Some 10 percent of Poland's population was Jewish before the Holocaust.
The report relates not only to the value of the property but also to its legal status, and proposes to the government how to proceed. It will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the ministerial committee on returning Jewish property.
The Foreign Ministry is opposed to explicit government intervention in returning Jewish property in eastern Europe, saying it could affect ties with these countries, particularly with Poland.
The government approved a proposal by Diaspora Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky at the end of 2003 to set up under his leadership a ministerial committee on the subject. A steering committee, headed by Sharansky's adviser on Jewish property affairs, subsequently heard historians, legal experts and representatives of Jewish organizations, and examined archival material in various places including Yad Vashem and in Poland.
Sharansky's spokesperson, Rivka Kanarik said predawn Tuesday that the experts were not finished working on the report. As a result, Kanarik said, the steering committee has yet to formulate a policy regarding how to dispense the property in question.
According to a source close to the committee, many of the Polish Jews were very wealthy.
"They controlled the oil and textile industries, and held expensive properties, many of which are now in the downtown areas of the cities," the source said.
The Hebrew daily Ma'ariv reported Monday that the Polish government had proposed a new draft law permitting heirs to receive 15 percent of the worth of their property. Sources said it was unlikely that the law would be approved, and that the sum was insufficient, but expressed satisfaction that such a precedent had been set.
Since 90 percent of Polish Jewry perished in the Holocaust, it was unlikely that there would be many heirs, they said, and therefore a joint Jewish body should be set up and recognized as representing the Jewish people, as had been done in Germany.
Foreign Ministry sources say that the issue of returning property is a very sensitive one in Polish society today, and should be handled by Jewish organizations rather than the Israeli government.
There is a great deal of tension over German demands for possible restitution for German citizens who were forced to leave Poland, they say. However, the former Israeli ambassador to Poland, Shevah Weiss, said Monday that there was a strong moral responsibility to return the property to the Jews of Poland.
"I don't believe the Poles will break off diplomatic relations over this moral issue," he said, "particularly in light of the fact that the elite in Poland certainly has an awareness of the issue and the readiness to make amends."
Those who filed claims by 1954 were compensated. Very few did, since accepting compensation was (and is) punishable by death by their Arab brethren. Israel has and is still willing to negotiate financial compensation for refugees, but only in a comprehensive regional fashion, which is a non starter for obvious reasons.
They were not compensated with land or with the market price of land. They were given a scheduled compensation below true market value.
Unfortunately the initial legislation required that claimants be Polish citizens, effectively elimating most Jews and their heirs.
The intent of that legislation was to exclude German claimants to Pomerania.
I'm not saying that the heirs of Holocaust victims are not entitled to compensation - they certainly are.
But it's not fair to Poles to say that they get a token amount of comp for their lost property but the descendants of other Poles should get actual restitution of the property.
That's extremely inequitable.
It should be equal for all, or if land is to be restored it should not be confiscated from Poles but purchased from them at market by the successor governments of the real culprits.
Thanks for clearing that up, I was just curious if they were compensated.
I beg to differ
Sheesh, half of my father's Catholic family was wiped out in the war. My grandfather was shot for refusing to help rebuild a bridge that was blown up by the resistance. My grandmother was sent to work in Germany and disappeared.
I agree, but I see noting to indicate anyone is asking for inequitable restitution. The article, and as you're clearly aware this issue is several years old, doesn't indicate anyone is asking for anything, other than mentioning the 15% proposal, less than a third of the 50% of value given to Polish citizens. Interestingly a few years ago I believe the Polish Government estimated the value of Jewish property as considerably more than $30 billion.
"They were compensated."
They weren't compensated.
I saw quite a few pre-war buildings in Warsaw and Krakow
Funny... Germany invaded Poland in 1939. What you described happened in 1941. Yes, Poles committed the atrocity. But at the same time, the behavior of Poles in a Nazi-dominated society would be very different than Poles in a free society:
* Hateful idiots exist in every society. In a free society, others would probably have held them in check. In Nazi-dominated Poland, the evildoers confidently knew that if anyone opposed them, it would be the peaceful people who would be killed.
* The Germans were destroying Polish society, creating a new one, and making very plain that they supported the extermination of the Jews. Millions of non-Jewish Poles were being slaughtered. Enthusiastically embracing the desires of their overlords would be a good way for unprincipled Poles to secure their own safety. As such, these Poles must be understood as traitors to their own people.
Your quite right about Krakow, former capital of the German's General-Government. The "old" buildings you saw in Warsaw were lovingly recreated in the 50's and 60's.
In Warsaw you saw " lots " of prewar buildings.....? Warsaw Poland?
If that 15% is 15% of current market value, it's probably substantially more than the rate at which in-country Poles were compensated.
Quite frankly, the article doesn't give enough detail.
Interestingly a few years ago I believe the Polish Government estimated the value of Jewish property as considerably more than $30 billion.
I would expect it to be far more. After all, something like one of every eight or nine Poles was Jewish in 1939.
I thought Poland passed a compensation bill a few years ago. If I'm wrong, then everyone's in the same boat.
Krakow, yes.
My understanding is that the Praga district of Warsaw pretty much was left intact during the war, but the side of Warsaw on the other side of the Wisla was pretty much destroyed.
My guess there's nothing to give any detail about. If Grzegorz is right, and he should know, maybe the law I'm thinking of was never implemented. In any event, imo if compensation should be reasonably equitable irrespective of the religion of the original owners.
Lots of good farmland in County Cork, probably worth a nice sum today. I can imagine that what the Germans didnt destroy the communists did (and replaced with lovely soviet-style concrete abominations).
Since the Communists nationalized everything, what makes you think that anyone got "fair market value"? And how to determine such value in a Stalinist state?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.