Magali Kaplan: "First time ever, Holocaust survivors can claim properties in Warsaw"

Polish government passed legislation to enable people to file claims for property in Warsaw A recently passed Polish law gives claimants six months to file claims for more than 2,600 properties in Warsaw which changed ownership as a result of World War 2.

Warsaw Source: Alexander Cahlenstein flicker

Many of the properties are believed to have been Jewish-owned before the Nazi occupation of Poland.Magali Kaplan, manager of Jewish Care Victoria, Holocaust support program, broke the news to SBS: My understanding that there is a new law about Warsaw property, that has been developed by the Polish government and with the assistance of the World Jewish Restitution Organization…They have been able to identify over 2,000 claimants whose property may be available for submitting the claim against , through the Polish government. If a claimant fails to file a claim before the short six months deadline he or she will have permanently relinquished ownership over the property under the new law. The World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) has created a database to help Holocaust survivors or their heirs reclaim property in Warsaw, before the deadlineMs Magali explains: Warsaw data base only had the address list…the World Jewish Restitution Organization matched the street addresses with property owners…They were able to match address with names, with the help of old phone directory for Warsaw…There is now a very limited opportunity for some kind of justice for people who suffered so much Ms Magali told SBS and she urges survivors to check the website with the data: Holocaust survivors have faced difficulties reclaiming lost property since World War II. Reclaiming property was impossible for decades while Poland was under Communist rule, and successful cases of restitution of property have only come after long and complicated legal proceedings. The process of restitution is further complicated for survivors or their heirs who no longer live in Poland.Poland was home to 3.3 million Jews before the Holocaust, about 90 precent of whom were murdered by the Nazi regime