On Tuesday, two lawsuits against two German companies for cooperating with the criminal system Third Things were filed with the District Court in Kraków, said lawyer Dr. Monika Brzozowska-Pasieka, president of the Defense Compensation Foundation.
The reason is the heirs of the victims of World War II – Poland, including those of Jewish descent.
Compensation for victims of World War II. Lawsuit against Henschel GmBH
The first of the lawsuits was lawsuit by the Leopold Wellisz family – a Polish financier, industrialist and patriot who had to flee German repression because of his Jewish roots; his brother Karol Wellisch was killed by the Germans. Leopold Wellisz’s grandsons, Krzysztof Wellisz, Tadeusz Wellisz and Michael Tremmer, filed suit.
The company is the defendant in the case Henschel GmBH – the legal successor to Henschel und Sohn. During World War II, the company took over, controlled and used the resources of the Polish company Fablok, whose co-founder and largest shareholder was Leopold Wellisz. The plaintiffs demanded the amount 17 million 353 thousand PLN 528 and 86 gr and an apology for violating their privacy rights. The plaintiffs were represented and the case was handled – pro publico bono – by attorneys associated with the Defense Compensation War Foundation – The Defense.
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Compensation for victims of World War II. Lawsuit against Bayer AG
The second lawsuit is lawsuit by Tadeusz Śledziński’s daughter – Polish engineer, long term employee and director at Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów. Arrested in 1940, Śledziński spent 5 years in the German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. In the camp, he was forced to work for the German company IG Farben, which was founded and co-created by Bayer (now Bayer AG).
The victim’s daughter demanded a sum of money from Bayer AG, which is based in Leverkusen 1 million 708 thousand PLN 76. The plaintiffs were also represented – pro publico bono – by lawyers from the Defenders’ War Compensation Foundation – The Defenders.
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“Bayer co-founded IG Farben. The president of this company, as well as members of the management board, actively participated in medical experiments and the use of forced labor at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Several members of the management board of IG Farben, including the president, were convicted in the Nuremberg trials,” he said. attorney Dr. Monika Brzozowska-Pasieka.
Compensation for victims of World War II. Lawsuits are a precedent
The total amount requested by the victims from the German concern in these two cases is almost PLN 19 million.
According to the Defender Foundation, the lawsuits set a precedent for Defenders. In previous practice, World War II victims or their heirs acted against the German state, which in turn requested immunity. In this case, a German company that supported German crimes, for example, using forced labor for German concentration camp prisoners, was sued.
“The topic of compensation has been in social circulation for a long time, but it mainly concerns the relations of countries, namely Poland-Germany, and more precisely in terms of reparations. We, on the other hand, want to approach it from a completely different angle, namely from a strict civil process” — said legal adviser Jerzy Pasieka.
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