Polish Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka has agreed to take part in ceremonies next April commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Suchocka told leaders of the European Jewish Congress last weekend that she will participate in events sponsored by world Jewish organizations and the Polish government to commemorate the ghetto resistance to the Nazis.
Members of the congress’ executive board, holding their first-ever meeting in Warsaw, also raised the issue of restitution for Jewish assets seized by the Nazis and then by the Communists.
Discussion of the issue has been prompted by the onset of a process of privatization in the former Communist states of Eastern Europe. Leading the delegation was Jean Kahn, president of the European Jewish Congress, an affiliate of the World Jewish Congress.
On other matters, Suchocka reportedly agreed to a plan on the teaching of the Holocaust in Polish schools. She also said she would welcome help in organizing a seminar for members of the Polish Parliament in fighting racism and anti-Semitism.
The question arose as part of the larger issue of a resurgence of racism and anti-Semitism throughout the European continent, particularly in Germany and Eastern Europe.
A special center for combatting anti-Semitism is being established by the European Jewish Congress in Paris, to be funded by a special grant from the European Council and the European Parliament.
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