War victims congress accused of making empty promises for compensation

President of the Association of War Victims, Mieczyslaw Janosz, charged 4,000 people zl.20 each to attend a congress in Katowice on Saturday, where he promised each of them up to DM 50,000 in war damages compensation from the German government. The invitations were sent to those who had applied for damages. Janosz declared that Germany owed Poland DM 537 billion in war damages, "which means that we own Germany", he allegedly shouted to the applause of those gathered. He urged every war victim to apply to the Foundation of Polish-German Conciliation for the DM 50,000, emphasizing that he would appeal any rejected applications to the Polish and international courts. Many people were disappointed after leaving the meeting, which according to Jan Parys, vice-president of the Foundation of Polish - German Conciliation, amounted to treachery. Parys said that Janosz deceived the war victims because only the Foundation has the authority to arrange war damages-related matters, in compliance with the agreement between Poland, Germany and the USA. Janosz is also known for his controverisal protests as a self-styled defender of the cross at the Auschwitz memorial site.(Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1) P.W.