Firstly, Jews still reside in Poland. They are painstakingly rebuilding their cultural, religious and social institutions. The Polish government will support all of these activities. The law of restitution of the property of Jewish religious communities is currently being discussed. We want all claims to be considered. I am glad that a foundation, with the participation of international Jewish organizations, which will administer this property, is commencing its activities.

Secondly, we are encountered, just as our predecessors, with the expectation that the Polish government will also address the restitutions of private property lost by the Jews during World War II, taken by the Nazi occupiers or left in Poland after the war. Each of these cases is a personal tragedy, connected with a feeling of deep unfairness. People who lost their property were not only persecuted but also deprived of their heritage for many generations. The same is felt by the inheritors of the millions of Poles who were resettled between 1939-40 from western Poland, or between 1945-46 from the former eastern territories. The majority of these people did not receive any compensation. Those Poles, who lost their houses and property during the Nazi occupation, or through the actions of the postwar government, have as well not received any compensation. We do not want to forget this issue. One needs to find ways of solving these issues, at least partially. The Sejm of the former government has attempted issuing the reprovatization law, which was deemed as unfair and economically unreal by my party. It would also be unfair to exclude from utilizing this statue those pre-war Polish citizens, mainly Jews, who have not resided in Poland after the war. President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, in accordance with our suggestion, has vetoed this statue.
In this issue I would like to state that the government led by me would not differentiate among the harmed based on ethnicity, religious belief, or current nationality.

Thirdly, is the question of the restitution of the memory of Polish Jews. The Jews were not, as it is simply stated in many articles and books, ordinary guests in Poland. Inconsequently of the fact whether we state the date of our meeting as 2002, or according to the Hebrew calendar the year 5762, it is a fact that the Polish and Jewish nations are connected by over 1000 years of common history. When in medieval Europe, Jews were driven out of the Rheinland, England and France, the leaders of Poland at the time, such as Bolesław Pobożny (The Devout) and Casimir the Great, gave them rights, ensured personal freedoms, and gave factual autonomy to their councils. These, in turn, created a strong foundation for the development of Jewish culture in Polish lands.
The Jewish town “shetll” has gained a historical meaning as an autonomous form of existence of the Jewish nation. The disappearance of Jews from Polish lands- is a great mourning of the Jewish nation, and the whole humanity, but also an impoverishment of Poland.

Fourthly, our last goal is to foster the possibility of economic contact, as Poland needs the transformation of its economy, the investment of capital, and the abilities to face these challenges. I am inviting anyone interested in investing in Poland not to be afraid to do so. Poland is a great market, has a great future, and is a great economic adventure.

We are not able to give back the lives of the Holocaust victims, but we have a duty to resurrect the remembrance of Polish Jews. By resurrecting their past, we will prolong their remembrance for the next generations of Poles. This is my understanding of the restitution of remembrance.”