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In February 2019, US Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]], on his first official visit to Poland said: "I urge my Polish colleagues to move forward with comprehensive private property restitution legislation for those who lost property during the Holocaust era".<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Pompeo-in-Poland-urges-country-to-pass-Holocaust-restitution-legislation-580638 Pompeo in Poland urges country to pass Holocaust restitution-legislation], JPost, 14 February 2019</ref> Following Pompeo's call, the issue became an electoral issue for far-right groups campaigning in Poland for the [[European Parliament election, 2019|European Parliament election]].<ref name="Bloomberg20190512">[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-11/polish-far-right-protests-against-jewish-property-restitution Polish Far-Right Protests Against Jewish Property Restitution], Bloomberg, Marek Strzelecki and Konrad Krasuski, 11 May 2019</ref> Robert Bakiewicz of the [[National Radical Camp]] stated the law was a threat to Poland and involves 300 billion dollars worth of real estate.<ref name="Bloomberg20190512"/><ref name="AFP20190512">[https://news.yahoo.com/polish-far-protests-us-law-jewish-restitution-194305688.html Polish far-right protests US law on Jewish restitution], AFP, 11 May 2019</ref> Anti-establishment party [[Kukiz'15]] and an ultra-nationalist coalition established for the EU elections floated bills that would state formally that Poland refuses to compensate for heirless property.<ref name="AFP20190512"/>
In February 2019, US Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]], on his first official visit to Poland said: "I urge my Polish colleagues to move forward with comprehensive private property restitution legislation for those who lost property during the Holocaust era".<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Pompeo-in-Poland-urges-country-to-pass-Holocaust-restitution-legislation-580638 Pompeo in Poland urges country to pass Holocaust restitution-legislation], JPost, 14 February 2019</ref> Following Pompeo's call, the issue became an electoral issue for far-right groups campaigning in Poland for the [[European Parliament election, 2019|European Parliament election]].<ref name="Bloomberg20190512">[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-11/polish-far-right-protests-against-jewish-property-restitution Polish Far-Right Protests Against Jewish Property Restitution], Bloomberg, Marek Strzelecki and Konrad Krasuski, 11 May 2019</ref> Robert Bakiewicz of the [[National Radical Camp]] stated the law was a threat to Poland and involves 300 billion dollars worth of real estate.<ref name="Bloomberg20190512"/><ref name="AFP20190512">[https://news.yahoo.com/polish-far-protests-us-law-jewish-restitution-194305688.html Polish far-right protests US law on Jewish restitution], AFP, 11 May 2019</ref> Anti-establishment party [[Kukiz'15]] and an ultra-nationalist coalition established for the EU elections floated bills that would state formally that Poland refuses to compensate for heirless property.<ref name="AFP20190512"/>


On 31 March 2019 hundreds of Polish nationalists protested in [[Foley Square]] in New York against the restitution bill.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/polish-nationalists-protest-holocaust-restitution-bill-in-n-y-c-1.7085414 Polish Nationalists Protest Holocaust Restitution Bill in N.Y.C. Using anti-Semitic Rhetoric], Haaretz (JTA), 3 April 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/poland-nationalism-anti-semitism-holocaust-denial-new-york-city-foley-square-1381690 NATIONALIST PROTESTERS TAKE OVER NEW YORK SQUARE AS POLISH ANTI-SEMITIC DEBATE SPREADS TO U.S.], Newsweek, 1 April 2019</ref><ref name="DW20190511"/> Additional protests took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Hartford, Philadelphia, Boston, and elsewhere.<ref name="Tablet20190412">[https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/283216/polish-nationalism-and-holocaust-history The war between Polish nationalism and Holocaust history], Tablet, 12 April 2019</ref> According to historian [[Jonathan Brent]], the protests "were not routine political gatherings but demonstrations aimed at rewriting the history of the Holocaust that featured open displays of anti-Semitism in major American cities".<ref name="Tablet20190412" /> According to historian Matthew Lenoe, "the event was the latest attempt to erase complex or negative aspects of Polish history" in a similar fashion to the [[Act on the Institute of National Remembrance#2018 amendment|2018 Polish Holocaust law]], and raises "disturbing questions about a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe".<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/04/17/its-time-do-away-with-laws-enforcing-triumphal-national-histories/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c0b0de4d80a3 It’s time to do away with laws enforcing triumphal national histories], Matthew Lenoe, 17 April 2019</ref>
On 31 March 2019 hundreds of Polish-Americans<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114881,24607330,nowy-jork-demonstracja-polonii-przeciwko-ustawie-447-pisarka.html|title=Pisarka opisała protest Polonii w USA. "Nigdy nie spotkałam się z takim antysemityzmem"|website=gazetapl}}</ref> protested in [[Foley Square]] in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hartford, Philadelphia, Boston, and elsewhere in the USA against the restitution bills, with signs like Poland was not the aggressor, it was a victim", "Poland should receive compensaton, not give it", “Treat [[anti-Polonism]] like [[antisemitism]]” and 'Stop slandering Poland in the media'. The organizers of the protest included Polish-American organizations such as the Committee to Protect the Katyn Monument and Other Historical Objects (New Jersey); the Polish American Strategic Initiative; Związek Żołnierzy Narodowych Sił Zbrojnych (Chicago); the Polish Heritage Council of North America Inc. (New York); and the Polish American Congress of Southern California (California). <ref name=tablet2/> The [[Polish American Congress]], the biggest Polish-American organization, officially distanced itself from the protests, which they discouraged in the first place, noting that they may damage Polish-American relations. PAC also issued a warning that "It does not require a soothsayer to predict that the mass media will write: On March 31, 2019, Polish Americans took to the streets to deny elderly Holocaust survivors compensation for their property."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pac1944.org/latest-press/polish-american-congress-pac-statement-in-opposition-to-the-demonstrations-of-31-march-2019-to-protest-public-law-no-115-171/|title=POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS (PAC) STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO THE DEMONSTRATIONS OF 31 MARCH 2019 TO PROTEST PUBLIC LAW NO. 115-171 – Polish American Congress}}</ref> According to the accounts of activists in a counterprotest, who described the anti-bill protesters as "Polish nationalists", some of the protesters carried [[antisemitic]] signs such as referencing the [[Holocaust Industry]] or the [[Stereotypes_of_Jews#Greed|Jewish greed stereotype]], and some engaged in [[Holocaust denial]] rhetoric.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/polish-nationalists-protest-holocaust-restitution-bill-in-n-y-c-1.7085414 Polish Nationalists Protest Holocaust Restitution Bill in N.Y.C. Using anti-Semitic Rhetoric], Haaretz (JTA), 3 April 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/poland-nationalism-anti-semitism-holocaust-denial-new-york-city-foley-square-1381690 NATIONALIST PROTESTERS TAKE OVER NEW YORK SQUARE AS POLISH ANTI-SEMITIC DEBATE SPREADS TO U.S.], Newsweek, 1 April 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.thejc.com/news/us-news/protesters-carry-antisemitic-signs-at-anti-holocaust-law-demonstration-in-new-york-1.482453 Protesters carry antisemitic signs at anti-Holocaust law demonstration in New York], Jewish Chronicle, 2 April 2019</ref><ref name=tablet2>[https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/283216/polish-nationalism-and-holocaust-history The War Between Polish Nationalism and Holocaust History], Tablet, 12 April 2019</ref> [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] called on the Polish government to condemn the rally.<ref>[http://www.wiesenthal.com/about/news/2019-4-4swc-calls-on-polish.html SWC Calls on Polish Government to Condemn Anti-Semitic Rally in New York], Simon Wiesenthal Center, 4 April 2019</ref>


On 4th May 2019, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki rejected the possibility his government would pay compensation as "We were the most murdered victims here during the Second World War and we will never agree to any payments for anyone for this reason, any compensation".<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/poland-won-t-pay-wwii-compensation-because-poles-were-greatest-victims-pm-says-1.7212395 Poland Won’t Pay WWII Compensation Because Poles Were Greatest Victims, PM Says], Haaretz, JTA and Katarzyna Markusz, 7 May 2019</ref><ref name="Bloomberg20190512"/> On 8th May 2019, U.S. State Department envoy on anti-Semitism, [[Elan Carr]], urged Polish media and leadership to fulfill their 2009 Terezín commitment,<ref name="AP20190511"/> and said that the US legislation only requires Poland to report on compliance.<ref name="DW20190511"/>
On 4th May 2019, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki rejected the possibility his government would pay compensation as "We were the most murdered victims here during the Second World War and we will never agree to any payments for anyone for this reason, any compensation".<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/poland-won-t-pay-wwii-compensation-because-poles-were-greatest-victims-pm-says-1.7212395 Poland Won’t Pay WWII Compensation Because Poles Were Greatest Victims, PM Says], Haaretz, JTA and Katarzyna Markusz, 7 May 2019</ref><ref name="Bloomberg20190512"/> On 8th May 2019, U.S. State Department envoy on anti-Semitism, [[Elan Carr]], urged Polish media and leadership to fulfill their 2009 Terezín commitment,<ref name="AP20190511"/> and said that the US legislation only requires Poland to report on compliance.<ref name="DW20190511"/>

Revision as of 06:33, 14 May 2019

Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2017
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to require reporting on acts of certain foreign countries on Holocaust era assets and related issues.
Enacted bythe 115th United States Congress
Effective9 May 2018
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 115–171 (text) (PDF)
Legislative history

The Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2017 (Pub. L. 115–171 (text) (PDF),S. 447 (and identical H.R. 1226)) requires the State Department to report to congress on steps that 47 countries in Europe, signatories of the 2009 Terezin Declaration, have taken to compensate Holocaust survivors and their heirs for assets seized by Nazi Germany and post-war communist governments.[1][2]

The bill does not provide the US with any enforcement power, only requiring reporting to Congress.

Background

The Terezin Declaration from 2009, to which 47 countries are signatories,[2] states that protection of property rights is part of the rule of law and an essential feature of democratic societies. The declaration recognizes the importance of property restitution or compensation in regards to property confiscated ruing the Holocaust era between 1933 and 1945.[3] According to Tammy Baldwin and Marco Rubio, the Senate sponsors of the bill, while several countries have endorsed the declaration they have not actually implemented the required restitution.[3]

Poland

While the bill does not single out any particular country, Poland is the sole state in Europe that has not passed legislation compensating former owners of property and the Polish government sees itself as the target of the law.[1] However as of late 2018, Poland still had no single, unified law regarding reprivatisation, and the process has been slow and based on a patchwork of several smaller, limited laws.[4]

Poland had a pre-war Jewish population of over 3.3 million, with only 369,000 surviving the war,[5] and Jewish property first stolen by the Nazis and then confiscated by Polish (Communist) authorities is estimated to be valued in billions of dollars.[6] Restitution of Jewish property in Poland would also potentially set a legal precedent for other groups in Poland whose property was confiscated, namely the nobility and churches.[6] Most of the property seized and nationalized by the communists after the war, including most of the properties in the Polish capital of Warsaw.[7] belonged to non-Jewish Poles.[1] While some claimants were able to recover property in post-communist Poland,[7] the process in Poland is filled with "fraud and sense of injustice".[1] In some cases this process have been proven to be highly contentious and controversial, opening the doors to fraud and corruption which exploited the loopholes in the imperfect laws regarding reprivatisation.[8][9] In Warsaw specifically, the situation is further complicated by the Destruction of Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising, 90% of buildings have been demolished by German troops. The post-war Bierut Decree transferred all land in Warsaw to the municipality; While in theory owners could have claimed compensation, in practice these claims were refused or ignored.[10]

Provisions

The bill requires the State Department to report to congress on steps that 47 countries in Europe, signatories of the 2009 Terezin Declaration, have taken to compensate Holocaust survivors and their heirs for assets seized by Nazi Germany and post-war communist governments.[1][2] The bill also requires specific reporting on restitution to Holocaust survivors who are US citizens or their relatives.[11]

Implementation and reaction timeline

Polish opposition and protests

In March 2018, 59 US Senators sent a bipartisan letter to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, stating that draft legislation (published on 20 October 2017,[12]) in Poland would discriminate against Holocaust survivors in the United States. The proposed Polish bill would require claimants to reside in Poland as Polish citizens, and would exclude heirs that are not "first-line heirs".[13] The Polish bill was subsequently withdrawn.[6]

On 25th April 2018, a protest led by the far-right National Movement's president Robert Winnicki was held in front of the US embassy in Warsaw, Winnicki saying that "The Jews will not get a penny from us".[14] A Polish-American group, including Richard Widerynski who is the former president of the Polish American Congress of Southern California lobbied against law, saying on their website that demands for restitution are "illegitimate extortion attempts".[15]

In February 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on his first official visit to Poland said: "I urge my Polish colleagues to move forward with comprehensive private property restitution legislation for those who lost property during the Holocaust era".[16] Following Pompeo's call, the issue became an electoral issue for far-right groups campaigning in Poland for the European Parliament election.[17] Robert Bakiewicz of the National Radical Camp stated the law was a threat to Poland and involves 300 billion dollars worth of real estate.[17][18] Anti-establishment party Kukiz'15 and an ultra-nationalist coalition established for the EU elections floated bills that would state formally that Poland refuses to compensate for heirless property.[18]

On 31 March 2019 hundreds of Polish-Americans[19] protested in Foley Square in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hartford, Philadelphia, Boston, and elsewhere in the USA against the restitution bills, with signs like Poland was not the aggressor, it was a victim", "Poland should receive compensaton, not give it", “Treat anti-Polonism like antisemitism” and 'Stop slandering Poland in the media'. The organizers of the protest included Polish-American organizations such as the Committee to Protect the Katyn Monument and Other Historical Objects (New Jersey); the Polish American Strategic Initiative; Związek Żołnierzy Narodowych Sił Zbrojnych (Chicago); the Polish Heritage Council of North America Inc. (New York); and the Polish American Congress of Southern California (California). [20] The Polish American Congress, the biggest Polish-American organization, officially distanced itself from the protests, which they discouraged in the first place, noting that they may damage Polish-American relations. PAC also issued a warning that "It does not require a soothsayer to predict that the mass media will write: On March 31, 2019, Polish Americans took to the streets to deny elderly Holocaust survivors compensation for their property."[21] According to the accounts of activists in a counterprotest, who described the anti-bill protesters as "Polish nationalists", some of the protesters carried antisemitic signs such as referencing the Holocaust Industry or the Jewish greed stereotype, and some engaged in Holocaust denial rhetoric.[22][23][24][20] Simon Wiesenthal Center called on the Polish government to condemn the rally.[25]

On 4th May 2019, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki rejected the possibility his government would pay compensation as "We were the most murdered victims here during the Second World War and we will never agree to any payments for anyone for this reason, any compensation".[26][17] On 8th May 2019, U.S. State Department envoy on anti-Semitism, Elan Carr, urged Polish media and leadership to fulfill their 2009 Terezín commitment,[27] and said that the US legislation only requires Poland to report on compliance.[28]

On 11th May 2019, thousands of far-right Polish nationalists marched to the United States Embassy in Warsaw protesting against the compensation for stolen properties that the JUST act promotes. Many of the protesters expressed opinions that as Poland was was one of the most devastated countries in the aftermath of World War II "it is not fair to ask Poland to compensate Jewish victims when Poland has never received adequate compensation from Germany." Some Polish protesters had signs on " what they see as U.S. double standards", suggesting that US should return land stolen from the Native Americans.[27][28][29]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Trump signs Holocaust property law that has angered Poland, AP (TOI reprint), 10 May 2018
  2. ^ a b c Trumps Signs Act Strengthening Holocaust Restitution Efforts, 10 May 2018, Jerusalem Post
  3. ^ a b Senate committee advances restitution bill for Holocaust survivors, JTA, 6 December 2017
  4. ^ ""PiS nie może mówić, że afera reprywatyzacyjna to nie my"". TVN24.pl. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Poland Virtual Jewish History Tour". Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Lily Widner, 97, survived the Holocaust and much more. Why does Poland say she’s dead?, JTA, 25 January 2019
  7. ^ a b Michael J. Bazyler; Kathryn Lee Boyd; Kristen L. Nelson (2019). Searching for Justice After the Holocaust: Fulfilling the Terezin Declaration and Immovable Property Restitution. Oxford University Press. pp. 327–328. ISBN 978-0-19-092306-8.
  8. ^ "Poland's reclaimed properties create scars across Warsaw". Financial Times. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  9. ^ Davies, Christian (18 December 2017). "'They stole the soul of the city': how Warsaw's reprivatisation is causing chaos". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  10. ^ ‘They stole the soul of the city’: how Warsaw's reprivatisation is causing chaos, Guardian, 18 December 2017
  11. ^ House passes bill to help Holocaust survivors obtain restitution, seized assets, JTA (TOI reprint), 25 April 2018
  12. ^ Marco Rubio, Tammy Baldwin Want Poland to Do More for Holocaust Survivors, Sunshine State News, Kevin Derby, 27 March 2018
  13. ^ 59 US senators protest Holocaust restitution bill in Poland, JTA, 26 March 2018
  14. ^ Polish nationalists protest outside US Embassy against Holocaust restitution, JTA (TOI reprint), 26 April 2018
  15. ^ Trump signs law to help Holocaust victims reclaim lost property, JTA, 10 May 2018
  16. ^ Pompeo in Poland urges country to pass Holocaust restitution-legislation, JPost, 14 February 2019
  17. ^ a b c Polish Far-Right Protests Against Jewish Property Restitution, Bloomberg, Marek Strzelecki and Konrad Krasuski, 11 May 2019
  18. ^ a b Polish far-right protests US law on Jewish restitution, AFP, 11 May 2019
  19. ^ "Pisarka opisała protest Polonii w USA. "Nigdy nie spotkałam się z takim antysemityzmem"". gazetapl.
  20. ^ a b The War Between Polish Nationalism and Holocaust History, Tablet, 12 April 2019
  21. ^ "POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS (PAC) STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO THE DEMONSTRATIONS OF 31 MARCH 2019 TO PROTEST PUBLIC LAW NO. 115-171 – Polish American Congress".
  22. ^ Polish Nationalists Protest Holocaust Restitution Bill in N.Y.C. Using anti-Semitic Rhetoric, Haaretz (JTA), 3 April 2018
  23. ^ NATIONALIST PROTESTERS TAKE OVER NEW YORK SQUARE AS POLISH ANTI-SEMITIC DEBATE SPREADS TO U.S., Newsweek, 1 April 2019
  24. ^ Protesters carry antisemitic signs at anti-Holocaust law demonstration in New York, Jewish Chronicle, 2 April 2019
  25. ^ SWC Calls on Polish Government to Condemn Anti-Semitic Rally in New York, Simon Wiesenthal Center, 4 April 2019
  26. ^ Poland Won’t Pay WWII Compensation Because Poles Were Greatest Victims, PM Says, Haaretz, JTA and Katarzyna Markusz, 7 May 2019
  27. ^ a b Polish nationalists protest US over Holocaust claims, AP, Vanessa Gera, 12 May 2019
  28. ^ a b Polish far-right protests US law on World War II Jewish assets, Deutsche Welle, 11 May 2019
  29. ^ Polish nationalists protest against US over Holocaust claims, France24, 11 May 2019
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