Jewish Scene
Poland says Holocaust restitution would equate to 'Hitler's victory'
Itamar Eichner
Published: 19.05.19, 21:15
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22 Talkbacks for this article
1. Is this another Polish Joke?
Koose E Mack ,   Great Satan   (05.19.19)
I read a story about the man who spit three times at the Polish Ambassador. If you ask me, it was a waste of good spit!
2. Balagan: a word that modern Hebrew imported from Polish.
ex Oleh Chadash   (05.19.19)
Imagine:

If I go to Poland and claim restitution for my ancestors property - what will happen next?

The judge will say: "We gave your family money to Israel".

"So, go to Israel to complaint. Ask Bibi for the money".
3. Meanwhile Israel's lame duck government is silent...
(05.20.19)
...and the Israeli prime minister is busy building himself a bridge to a higher level domination of Israel!
He has no time to deal with past crimes or future injustices against the Jews of the world in general or Israelis in particular.
What a sad state of affairs!
4. I think it wouldv'e been more appropriate to demand a BMW or
(05.20.19)
Audi for each Israeli citizen (from Germany of course) than this!
5. Strange allegations from Israel after all these years!Where
(05.20.19)
have we been until now and why?
Ruined good relations for something that will never materialize.
All it achieved is to strengthen the misconceptions both sides have about each other, damn the consequences.
I could be wrong, but....
6. When Stealing becomes Ownership
Mike Druttman ,   Hod Hasharon   (05.20.19)
Let me understand this correctly. Polish citizens ratted on their Jewish neighbors so that the Nazis took them away. Those Poles then moved into the neighbors' houses. Now the Polish Prime Minister says that the descendants of the Jewish home owners have no right to claim compensation for their families' stolen property. In other words, Thieves become rightful owners. Perhaps personal moral standards have not changed much in Poland since the middle of WW2?
7. Just because some Jew had spat on ambassador Magierowski
Tomek ,   Lublin   (05.20.19)
it did not turn him into Polish PM. Your saliva is not magical.
8. Do not be silly
Tomek ,   Lublin   (05.20.19)
Religions are human inventions. The first Israelite who came up with it should have patented and licensed the whole thing. Actually, you should try to do it retroactively right now. You do not even have to be this guy's heir. Just go to the patent office and tell them some weepy story.
9. One has to know history.
Andrzej ,   Warszawa   (05.20.19)
Dear Mike. In order to understand it correctly one has to know history. Especially situation between ethnic Poles between minorities and other governments during the war and before it. Jewish property was stolen in 100% by German state, likewise polish one during war. Three million Jews was killed in Poland from Jewish minority and many of them where actually Poles. In addition 3 million ethnic Poles was exterminated by Germans. During the war the law and moral order has broken. There was no polish administration only German one. Criminal acts against life and property of Jews was considered under German law correct and opposite acts punished by death. So criminals where protected in this respect by German Law. The Jewish property belonged to German state and stealing it from German state was punished by death. Poles where only intitled to 1 kilo of sugar and one bottle of vodka and clothes of a dead persons, if brought about to the death of a Jew. After the war there was ho heirs to immovables, because Jews in Poland where exterminated. So naturally the hair of such movable became polish state. So in principle you are wrong that thieves become owners. Owner become polish state and it kept this property, used it, rent it, or sold it to Poles. When in Poland Communism collapsed. Due to large transfers of property resulting from war and communist regimes which involved also execution and expropriation of many Poles polish government and parliament decided on the civil law model not administrative one to return private property taken over by polish state. Every polish citizen and its descendant must go to court of law and claim there its property. Jews not having polish citizenship in this way can also claim its rights and actually some of the received its property back. There is no moral or legal ground in claiming property by Jewish state or international organization. The Jewish property was also used by Jews in Poland after War, while the polish property taken by soviet state was used by Jews who where soviet’s subject. Is should be noted that Jews where part of soviet’s regime and benefited directly during and after the war from large transfers of polish private property, resulting from the extermination of Poles, which run in hundred thousand of casualties in the eastern part of Poland annexed by the soviet union during the war. Therefore our relations between Poles and Jews during the war ceased to be relations resulting from the neighbourhood. Basically Poles regarded Jews as their enemies and allies of the soviets, but respected request of western allies not to be involved in genocide. We are aware of our cruelty to Jews and regret it, since it was inhuman, but even if Poles where better people, there was no way to save Jews in Poland during war.
10. Polish Government before and in WW2 wanted rid of its Jews
Stephen Franklin ,   London   (05.21.19)
From The Forgotten Ally by Pierre van Paassen published in 1943 and in paperback in 2005:

"The new middle class was built, unavoidably they said (for this was quite frankly admitted in government circles), on the systematic and calculated ruin of the Jewish population. It had to be, the leaders of the nationalist parties told me. There was no alternative. It was a question of life and death for the new Poland to destroy the old middle class and to get rid of it. There
were two or three million superfluous Jews in Poland. Ultimately they would
have to perish or be evacuated from the country, go elsewhere, anywhere. The Polish authorities did not care where they went, for in Poland there was no room for them."

See pages 8-9 and 15 of the paperback (2005) edition.
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