Polish WWII home owners can now reclaim

The city of Warsaw has published a list of properties that can legally be claimed by the pre-World War II owners, among them Holocaust survivors.

The city of Warsaw has begun publishing a list of properties that can be legally claimed by their pre-World War II owners - among them Holocaust survivors and their families.

Nearly 50 properties were published Wednesday that can be returned to original owners or their heirs who can prove claims, and more are expected to follow.

The list is the result of a controversial 2016 law that gives original owners of properties seized by the communists six months to come forward any properties not claimed within six months will be permanently transferred to the city.

Gideon Taylor of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation urged authorities to notify potential claimants and to "extend the very short deadline".

The new law affects people who had property in Warsaw that they tried to reclaim after the war.

At that time, the communist regime seized much of the pre-war property, making it impossible in practice for anyone to reclaim property until communism fell in 1989.

Poland is the only European Union country that has so far failed to pass a national law that returns property to Holocaust survivors and other Polish citizens who were dispossessed by the war or communism.


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Source: AAP



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