Paying for past pariahs
One of the most controversial issues in Poland since 1989 has been that of Restitution, along with its little brother Compensation. Although the Second World War ended some 59 years ago (more than two generations), victims and their descendants are still making headlines with their claims either to have property they once owned returned, or to receive financial recompense for their loss.
In this week's press there was much to ponder. Reuters filed a story reporting that a group of gypsies have been cleared by a Swiss court to sue computer giant IBM for its alleged part in the Nazi extermination programs. Apparently, the Nazis used punch-card tabulating machines, developed by IBM, to track and identify victims. IBM said that it lost control of its German subsidiary which supplied the equipment before 1939; however, the plaintiff's lawyer was very upbeat about this test case, claiming that it was only the beginning of a global strategy that would, if successful, cost IBM up to $12 billion (zł.45.2 billion)
Closer to home, the UK's Financial Times reported that the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland violated the European Convention of Human Rights when it failed to compensate a Pole for property left behind in Ukraine after Poland's borders were shifted west at the end of the war. The individual concerned is seeking zł.390,000 for his grandmother's house in Lvov, and the story went on to say that the door is now open to a potential 80,000 claims worth an estimated zł.10 billion.
Interestingly, the reason the European Court found against Poland was because, in 1944, the nascent communist government signed agreements with neighboring countries stating that Poland alone would be responsible for compensating Poles relocated to land "taken" from Germany. While most of the 1.2 million who were moved were repaid in-kind, in the confusion of relocation many thousands received nothing.
In other words, 60 years after an undemocratic government imposed by force of arms agreed to compensate refugees, it is now the democratically elected government of the Third Republic that must foot the bill, most probably by passing the costs on to taxpayers. Through all the talk of justice and righting wrongs, which at times has seemed to be little more than a scramble for self-enrichment, the fact that ordinary Poles must in effect pay for the atrocities committed by Nazis and communists has warranted almost no debate. If we were to take this process to its logical conclusion the vast majority of all Europeans would have some cause for redress; but all the while, we scratch at the scabs of a conflict caused by two of the most brutal regimes humanity has yet to throw up (both figuratively and literally), instead of progressing to put this appalling chapter of history behind us.
In this week's press there was much to ponder. Reuters filed a story reporting that a group of gypsies have been cleared by a Swiss court to sue computer giant IBM for its alleged part in the Nazi extermination programs. Apparently, the Nazis used punch-card tabulating machines, developed by IBM, to track and identify victims. IBM said that it lost control of its German subsidiary which supplied the equipment before 1939; however, the plaintiff's lawyer was very upbeat about this test case, claiming that it was only the beginning of a global strategy that would, if successful, cost IBM up to $12 billion (zł.45.2 billion)
Closer to home, the UK's Financial Times reported that the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland violated the European Convention of Human Rights when it failed to compensate a Pole for property left behind in Ukraine after Poland's borders were shifted west at the end of the war. The individual concerned is seeking zł.390,000 for his grandmother's house in Lvov, and the story went on to say that the door is now open to a potential 80,000 claims worth an estimated zł.10 billion.
Interestingly, the reason the European Court found against Poland was because, in 1944, the nascent communist government signed agreements with neighboring countries stating that Poland alone would be responsible for compensating Poles relocated to land "taken" from Germany. While most of the 1.2 million who were moved were repaid in-kind, in the confusion of relocation many thousands received nothing.
In other words, 60 years after an undemocratic government imposed by force of arms agreed to compensate refugees, it is now the democratically elected government of the Third Republic that must foot the bill, most probably by passing the costs on to taxpayers. Through all the talk of justice and righting wrongs, which at times has seemed to be little more than a scramble for self-enrichment, the fact that ordinary Poles must in effect pay for the atrocities committed by Nazis and communists has warranted almost no debate. If we were to take this process to its logical conclusion the vast majority of all Europeans would have some cause for redress; but all the while, we scratch at the scabs of a conflict caused by two of the most brutal regimes humanity has yet to throw up (both figuratively and literally), instead of progressing to put this appalling chapter of history behind us.
