‘Obama must raise Jewish property restitution problem’

In a statement sent to the Rzeczpospolita daily, the organization’s director general David Peleg asks President Obama to take up the issue of basic justice for those seeking closure to the issue. He also called on Prime Minister Donald Tusk to resume the legislative process on compensation for former owners of property confiscated during the Nazi occupation of Poland and communist rule.

Poland is the only major country in the former Soviet bloc yet to solve the problem of returning private property confiscated by the Nazis or nationalized by the Communist regime. About 3,500,000 Jews lived in Poland prior to the war; about 10,000 currently reside there, writes the World Jewish Restitution Organization on its page.

Parliamentary speaker Grzegorz Schetyna admitted today that the matter was partially tackled back in the 1960s but was not fully resolved.

“This problem is facing us and it must be finalized”, Schetyna told the Polish news agency PAP. “But this depends on the financial capabilities of the Polish state. I don’t think Barack Obama will raise this issue”, said the parliamentary speaker.

Poland has said several times that it cannot afford full compensation because of rising state deficit. (kk/pg)