A few years ago, Shoshana Greenberg was standing outside a building in Lodz, Poland, Once owned by her family, holding an old photo in her hand, tears streaming down her face.
Greenberg, 74, lives in Tel Aviv, and he is seeking to recover property lost during the war. massacreHer father was the head of a prominent and wealthy Jewish family in Rhodes, which owned industrial buildings, houses and holiday properties.
When the Nazis arrived, the property was confiscated along with the family jewelry.They are forced to enter Lodz GhettoLater, Greenberg’s father and his siblings were sent to Auschwitz, only her father survived. After the war, Poland’s new communist government nationalized confiscated property, while impoverished Holocaust survivors rebuilt their lives from scratch elsewhere.
due to The fall of communism in 1989Most countries of the former Soviet bloc have taken measures to provide compensation and compensation to their Jewish citizens before the war.Poland is the only big country Not implemented Such a plan-now it is about to make returns more difficult.
In the next few weeks, a new law is expected to pass its final stage in the Polish parliament. The law will set a 30-year time limit for the legal challenge of confiscated property, effectively reducing thousands of claims.
The Polish government stated that the new regulations are aimed at preventing fraud and “violations.” It also stated that it “is not responsible for the Holocaust, which is an atrocities committed by the Germans. [occupiers]”But many other countries, including Britain, Israel, and the United States, have severely criticized this move.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “This is not a historical debate about responsibility for the Holocaust, but Poland’s moral debt to citizens whose property was plundered under the Holocaust and the communist regime.”
Last week, the The United States says the legislation “will cause irreparable harm By effectively eliminating claims for the restitution and compensation of property seized during the Holocaust, these properties were subsequently nationalized during the communist period.”
The British Foreign Office and the British Embassy in Warsaw raised concerns with the Polish government. Eric Pickles, Britain’s special envoy for post-holocaust issues, Tweet“The return of confiscated Jewish property is still incomplete. Many friends in Poland urge it to agree to a fair and reasonable plan.”
Gideon Taylor, Chairman of the World Jewish Return Organization Action, told Observer The legislation is a “horrible mistake” and will “essentially eliminate any claims.” He added: “The argument that the Polish government requires legal certainty is correct and a very reasonable position. However, what follows is the need to solve potential problems.”
Other countries of the former Soviet bloc have already “faced” the past. “But Poland is trying to ignore the past and cover up huge injustices.” Some well-known Polish figures have advocated “handling history openly and transparently, but unfortunately there are stronger voices rejecting any attempt to examine what happened.” Hopefully a smarter mind will prevail, but it is very difficult,” Taylor said.
Three years ago, Poland Make it a criminal offense The accusation that the country conspired with Nazi war crimes carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Internationally, especially after the strong protests from Israel and the United States, Warsaw government retreats, Making it a civil rather than a criminal offence.
Before World War II, more than 3 million Jews lived in Poland, the largest community in the world. EuropeApproximately 90% of people were killed in the Holocaust, many of them were killed in Nazi death camps. The Jewish population in Poland is now about 10,000.
The Polish Embassy in London stated that the legislation “does not discriminate against any person or any specific group, nor does it intend to confront any party, including Israel or the Diaspora.”
It added: “Polish law allows all qualified individuals, regardless of their nationality or origin, to pursue their rights, including in civil litigation, to obtain compensation for property lost due to post-war nationalization.
“Poland attaches great importance to commemorating the victims of the genocide committed by the German occupiers on its territory during World War II.”
Greenberg’s father asked her to take back the family property one day. Finally in 2016, she spent her day in a Polish court. “On the witness stand, I am stronger than steel. My father’s voice speaks from my mouth, in the name of my family and all the 6 million dead Jews,” she said.
After the court ruled that she was the legal heir, she went to her father’s grave. “I told him that he won and the dignity of the family has been restored.”
But within a few weeks, the Polish Land Registry rejected her request to register the property in her name, citing a “warning” registered in the 1950s. “I was shocked. I am the heir, but not the owner.”
The new law further hit Greenberg and other future generations seeking compensation. “The property does not belong to the Polish government, but to my family. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed,” she said. “I hope the world will not be silent. I will not forget and will never forgive. Never.”
