The German-Polish Cultural Property Debate – Can Pragmatic Solutions Overcome a Convoluted Controversy?

• Authors: Hans-Georg Dederer , Markus P. Beham

Abstracts

EN

This contribution discusses the unresolved claims of Poland and Germany arising from the destruction, removal, and appropriation of cultural property during and immediately following the Second World War; viewed against the background of the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Warsaw Treaty and the 30th anniversary of the 1990 2+4 Treaty. It provides an analysis of the extent to which these and other bilateral treaties between Germany and Poland impose legal obligations to restore or compensate for the destruction or loss of cultural property. Finally, it suggests pragmatic solutions to overcome the convoluted political, diplomatic and legal debates in the spirit of “cultural internationalism” and in line with the proposals of the Copernicus Group of Polish and German historians.

Keywords

EN

cultural property; restitution; Berlinka; Second World War; Potsdam Agreement; reparations; cultural internationalism

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Polish Yearbook of International Law
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 41
• Pages: 81-92

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Hans-Georg Dederer

• University of Passau

• https://orcid.org/0000000160248727

author

Markus P. Beham

• University of Passau

• https://orcid.org/0000000258714335

Identifiers

DOI

10.24425/PYIL.2022.142340

Biblioteka Nauki

55994752