Paris, Saturday, September 11, 2004   Poland demands war reparations from Germany Ties with Germany likely to deteriorate after a unanimous vote in Parliament by Judy Dempsey BERLIN Polish lawmakers on Friday demanded that their government seek compensation from Germany for damage suffered by Poles during World War II, a decision diplomats said could lead to a rapid deterioration of relations between the two countries. David Irving comments: GERMANS have their beloved Chancellor Willy Brandt (real name: Herbert Frahm) to thank for this. Remember his Warsaw Kniefall?    The Germans should be reminded that they have a substantial debt claim against Poland, known as the Schuldenberg.    And that about half of modern Poland consists of territory stolen from Germany since 1918.    And that about eighteen million Germans were ethnically cleaned from this stolen territory between 1919-1948; and that more than five million Germans died in the process. What goes around can come around, even in Shakedown City.    Is Poland also laying a claim against Moscow? The Soviet Union seized Poland's eastern provinces in Sept 1939 and again in 1945, and killed millions of Polish citizens too.  The Polish Sejm, or Parliament, unanimously backed the resolution, with 328 deputies voting for it. There was one abstention. The resolution said Poland "has not received its due financial compensation or war damages for the enormous damages and material and non-material losses caused by the German aggression, occupation, genocide and loss of independence." Under the Nazi occupation, six million Poles, including the country's 3.1 million-strong Jewish community, were killed. The resolution added that Poland has "no financial obligations whatsover toward German citizens" for any property lost when Poland's borders shifted westward after 1945. An estimated 12.5 million Germans were expelled or forced to flee from Poland, what was then Czechoslovakia -- now the Czech Republic -- and other East European countries. A Polish diplomat said the decision by the Sejm was partly in reaction to the Prussian Claims Society -- a group of former German property owners seeking restitution rights from the Polish government through the courts for property they lost when they were expelled from Poland after 1945, and which recently set up in the western German city of Düsseldorf. The Society said it would press ahead regardless of the Sejm vote and take its first claim to the courts this autumn. Although the Sejm resolution is not legally binding, Polish officials said Prime Minister Marek Belka would nevertheless come under huge pressure by deputies to raise the issue with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Schröder visited Warsaw last month to attend the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. German officials said at the time that they hoped the gesture would pave the way for improved relations between the two countries badly damaged last December when Poland and Spain blocked a new constitution for the European Union, insisting that it should be given a bigger share of the voting rights. Despite Schröder's visit to Warsaw, during which he said he would advise the courts to reject any claims made by the Society, the issue of restitution and compensation has become a major political issue in Poland. Polish officials said it was being used by the nationalist parties, who are already positioning themselves for fresh parliamentary elections. And now that Poland has joined the EU, diplomats in Brussels and Berlin said some Polish political parties could raise issues that were once taboo, no longer concerned they could undermine entry the country's into the EU. However, Poland's president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, is anxious to improve relations with Germany, especially ahead of crucial negotiations for the EU's new budget, in which Germany is the largest net contributor. Kwasniewski recently told the International Herald Tribune that he expected tough negotiations over the budget. Last week, Kwasniewski distanced himself from calls for compensation or reparations. Speaking on Polish television to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Poland, he said: "The two nations have made much effort to overcome mistrust and mutual prejudices." German officials, on condition of anonymity, said they were extremely disappointed with the Sejm resolution. "It is about looking to the future, not to the past," one official said. According to diplomats, if the Polish government goes ahead and makes compensation and reparation claims to the German government it would also throw into question previous treaties and protocols signed by Poland over these issues. In August 1953, Poland, the Soviet Union and the former East Germany signed a protocol in which Warsaw renounced reparations throughout Germany. In the German-Polish treaty of 1970, Poland again renounced all claims. Polish officials said the country, then under communist rule, had been under pressure from the Kremlin to sign such protocols and so may not be considered binding today. They do not explain why these protocols were not renounced after the communists in Poland were ousted from power in 1991.     David Irving: "Hitler's war" (free download) Hitler index

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