The Prussian Trust, or Prussian Claims Society, () is a corporation registered in Düsseldorf, founded in 2000 as Preußische Treuhand GmbH by some descendants of German expellees, and supported by some officials of the Landsmannschaft Schlesien organization. It seeks to claim compensation from Poland and the Czech Republic, among others, for property confiscated from Germans expelled from territories which after World War II became parts of Poland and Czechoslovakia.

The chairman of the supervisory board is Rudi Pawelka, who also is president of the Landsmannschaft Schlesien, and vice president is Hans Günther Parplies, also vice president of the Federation of Expellees. The Trust probably has less than a hundred members.^[1]

Rudi Pawelka told the Daily Telegraph that: "Germans held lands and properties in what is now Poland for hundreds of years. They have a deep, inner connection to the region and many want their properties back. Soon we will all be Europeans. Poland's accession to the EU will enable us to take our case to the Strasbourg court for the first time. Poland must not be allowed to discriminate against Germans."^[2]

The former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder stated on August 1, 2004 that the German government will not support these claims. Also, the Polish Sejm declared that Poland will demand war reparations from Germany if the German government does not end the press for compensations. Some German politicians stated that the claims were ridiculous and had no legal basis; the corporation's activities have been repudiated by all mainstream German politicians who have addressed the issue, including the president of the Federation of Expellees, Erika Steinbach.^[3]

In December 2006, the corporation filed 23 individual claims against Poland in the European Court of Human Rights, an action which has been condemned by both the Polish and German governments.^[4] The Polish government decided that the submissions warranted a comment by Anna Fotyga, the Polish Minister of the Foreign Affairs who "express [her] deepest concern upon receiving the information about a claim against Poland submitted by the Prussian Trust to the European Court of Human Rights".^[5]

On 9 October 2008 the European Court of Human Rights declared the case of Preussische Treuhand v. Poland inadmissible, because

See also

• Former German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line
• Federation of Expellees
• German exodus from Eastern Europe
  • Expulsion of Germans after World War II

References

• English language homepage of the Die Preußische Treuhand GmbH & Co. KG a. A.

Official comments

• Anna Fotyga, the Polish Minister of the Foreign Affairs "I express my deepest concern upon receiving the information about a claim against Poland submitted by the Prussian Trust to the European Court of Human Rights. ...". 21 December 2006
• The German Federal Foreign Office Political relations: Poland Last updated in March 2008

Journals

• Klaus Ziemer. What Past, What Future? Social Science in Eastern Europe: News letter: Special Issue German-Polish Year 2005/2006, 2005 Issue 4, ISSN 1615-5459 pp. 4-11. Published by the Social Science Information Centre (see Archive)

In the news

• Tony Paterson Germans claim 'Third Reich' Polish property. Daily Telegraph, 15 February 2004

Further reading

• Clare Murphy. WWII expulsions spectre lives on BBC News online 2 August, 2004
• Stefan Theil Germany: Road to Better Days, Newsweek, August, 2004 (backup site)
• DW staff. German Post-War Refugees to Claim Polish Assets, Deutsche Welle, 3 August 2004.
• Penny Campbell Worldwatch:Pay Up Time Magazine, 12 September 2004.
• DW staff. Warsaw-Berlin Tensions Rise Over Expellee Claims, Deutsche Welle, 6 September, 2004.
• Staff. Germans and Poles settle WWII row BBC News 27 September, 2004
• DW staff. Polish Leaders Criticize Latest German Compensation Claims Deutsche Welle 16 December, 2006
• Associated Press article. Polish prime minister urges parliament to affirm Poles' rights to property left by expelled Germans in the International Herald Tribune, 19 December, 2006
• Associated Press article. Polish foreign minister denies Warsaw wants to renegotiate 1990 border treaty with Germany, International Herald Tribune 20 December, 2006
• Mark Landler. Lawsuit Reopens Old Wounds in German-Polish Dispute New York Times 25 December, 2006 ( backup site)
• Staff. Claims of Ownership - How the Organisation "Prussian Trust" is Complicating Relations with Poland Deutsche Welle 27 December 2006
• W.?. Claims, Complaints & Controversy. Warsaw Voice, 3 January 2007
• Jan Puhl and Andreas Wassermann. Suit Evokes Ghosts of War Spiegel Online 2 January 2007
• Tom Hundley. German claims from WW II rankle Poland's twin leaders, Chicago Tribune, 25 January, 2007
• Staff. EU partners Poland, German ministers tackle WWII-era claims DPA German Press Agency 31 January, 2007 ? From rawstory.com not a DPA website (a backup site)
• Staff. Spiegel interview with former Polish Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski Spiegel Online 15 February, 2007. paragraphs 24-27.

Footnotes

de:Preußische Treuhand pl:Powiernictwo Pruskie

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