The District Court in Szczytno, north east Poland, has ruled that two families have to evacuate the house they inhabited for over thirty years, because it formally belongs to German citizen Agnes Trawny.
Agnes Trawny is the first German citizen to win a property restitution case in Polish courts. In 2005, Trawny, who left Poland in 1977, recovered forty-seven hectares of land and a 250-metre house which originally belonged to her mother and which she was forced to give up when she decided to move to Germany. Two families, which have lived in the Narty village – the Moskalikowie and Glowaccy families – were supposed to move out by December 2008.
However, the destitute families – each consisting of six members – decided to stay and fight for their rights to the house. The inhabitants claim that Trawny abandoned the house and land and was not interested in it for almost thirty years, while they invested their money in maintaining the property. The Moskalikowie and Glowaccy families also blame the communist State Treasury for accommodating them in a house left by Trawny without securing rights to the property.
Trawny took the Moskalikowie and Glowaccy families to court in Szczytno and won a case for eviction. The two families will have to move out by summer 2010 and the state will not be obliged to provide them with a replacement home.
The issue of property restitution, from citizens of another country, is both controversial and mounting in Poland. Large movements of people during and after WWII have meant that many land settlements have yet to be resolved. (mg/kk/mmj)
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German woman won’t get compensation for land in Poland , thenews.pl, 20.09.2007
Securing land rights , polishradio.pl , 27.07.2007