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Polish president rules out restitution for Jews

PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki 16.05.2019 12:50
President Andrzej Duda has declared that Poland will never provide restitution for heirless Jewish property that once belonged to the victims of the Holocaust.
President Andrzej Duda speaks during a meeting with residents in Myślenice, southern Poland, on Wednesday. Photo: PAP/Jacek BednarczykPresident Andrzej Duda speaks during a meeting with residents in Myślenice, southern Poland, on Wednesday. Photo: PAP/Jacek Bednarczyk

At a meeting with residents in the southern town of Myślenice on Wednesday, Duda said he would not agree to any changes in Polish law to make such restitution claims possible.

He referred to the US Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act, which requires the US State Department to report to Congress on progress in countries including Poland on the restitution of Jewish assets seized during World War II and its aftermath.

Duda said the issue should be approached with calm as “there is no place for such restitution in Polish law.”

Under Polish law, property without legal heirs belongs to the State Treasury.

Poland’s government is readying a bill to protect the country against any claims for compensation over World War II, an official in Warsaw said earlier this month.

(mk/gs)

tags: restitution
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