28 February 2014
Information of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs on Poland-UK indemnization agreement
In connection with Thursday’s House of Lords debate on
the restitution of the property of Holocaust victims and their heirs, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to refer to the Agreement of 11 November
1954 between the Government of the Polish People’s Republic and the Government
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the
settlement of financial issues.
Restitution of property and indemnization are
regulated in Poland by the provisions of the Civil Code, the Code of Civil
Procedure and other laws. Pursuant to these provisions, private property in
Poland has been systematically returned to its owners since 1989.
The Polish legislation does not make a difference
between applicants based on their ethnicity or religion – everyone can use the
same procedures and legal instruments. On 11 November 1954, Poland and the
United Kingdom signed an indemnization agreement providing for the
settlement of financial claims by British citizens and companies registered in
the UK against Poland. Under this agreement, the Polish government paid almost
GBP 5.5 million to the British government.
In 1991-2012, Poland paid a total of PLN 65,708,738
(around USD 22 million) in the form of permanent aid to victims of German
repressions in ghettos and camps (and to inheriting widows and widowers). The
sum does not include all funds paid to Holocaust victims from the state budget,
as it only represents the figure that is possible to estimate.
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