Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Poland officially approves law that limits Holocaust restitution claims, sparking global Jewish outrage

(JTA) — Poland’s president signed into law a bill that will restrict Holocaust restitution claims by Jews and others who had property stolen by the Nazis or Soviet-backed occupation forces during the World War II era.

The law, signed Saturday by President Andrzej Duda, gives all property restitution claims a 30-year time limit from the alleged theft. That will effectively wipe out any claims from the World War II era.

Israel’s top two leaders called the law antisemitic and the country recalled its ambassador to Warsaw. U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who is Jewish, voiced considerable concern prior to Duda’s signing, and international Holocaust restitution organizations also fumed after its passage.

“Poland today approved – not for the first time – an immoral, anti-Semitic law,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement Saturday. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called it “a shameful decision and disgraceful contempt for the memory of the Holocaust.”

Duda and other Polish leaders claim the law will simplify the country’s property laws and end a period of corruption and confusion over restitution claims. The majority of those claims have actually been made by non-Jewish Poles.

But the move is a clear continuation of the country’s right-wing government’s longstanding crusade to separate itself from the effects of Nazi war crimes. In 2018, Poland triggered a similar amount of ire over a law that made it illegal to blame Poland for any Holocaust atrocities, despite the fact that many Poles collaborated with the Nazis.

The World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) told Reuters that it hopes Poland will still resolve from the “Communist era,” during which Communist forces retained stolen Jewish property first taken by the Nazis. Poland has given back millions in compensation for property that was owned by Jewish communities, but it is the only major country in the former Soviet bloc that has taken no action to return private property, according to the WJRO.

Lapid added that Poland’s ambassador to Israel, who is out of the country on vacation, should not return, and said that Israel is coordinating with the U.S. on further steps to condemn the law.

“[Poland’s ambassador] should use the time he has on his hands to explain to the Poles what the Holocaust means to Israel’s citizens and the extent to which we will not tolerate contempt for the memory of those who perished and for the memory of the Holocaust. It will not stop here,” Lapid said in his statement.


The post Poland officially approves law that limits Holocaust restitution claims, sparking global Jewish outrage appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.