Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki insists that the question of Polish compensation for Jewish assets stolen by the Nazi was “definitively resolved,” rebuffing a US call for further action.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who visited Poland last week, called on Warsaw to move forward with legislation to help “those who lost property during the Holocaust era”.
But Morawiecki tells the PAP news agency: “The question of restitution of assets to US citizens of Jewish origin has been definitively resolved.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki arrives at the informal EU summit in Salzburg, Austria, September 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)
“A law of compensation, signed with the United States settles the question, and frees Poland from these responsibilities,” he said. The compensation law to which he was referring was passed in 1960.
“I want to underline that: this subject does not exist,” he adds.
The claims for compensation were based on a fundamental misunderstanding, he said. “Poland was the victim and not the executioner,” he argues.
And Germany had never compensated Poland “for losses inflicted by the Third Reich’s criminal policies,” he adds.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this