German refugees lodge complaint against Poland

STRASBOURG, France, Dec 15 (Reuters) A group of German post-war refugees have lodged a complaint against Poland with the European Court of Human Rights for violation of property rights and discrimination, the court said today.

The case could add to tensions between Germany and Poland over the fate of some 12 million ethnic Germans who were displaced or forcibly evicted from Poland and the former Czechoslovakia after World War Two ended in 1945.

Twenty-three German refugees or their relatives filed the complaint via the Preussische Treuhand organisation, citing articles of the European Convention of Human Rights concerning property rights and discrimination.

The court in Strasbourg said it had not yet examined whether it would take on the case.

Many of the refugees ended up in southern Germany, where they represent a significant political lobby. Many want compensation for property they lost. The German government has made clear it does not support such claims.

The activities of some of the expelled Germans, especially Preussische Treuhand, have added to tension between Germany and Poland in recent years.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski told reporters at an EU summit in Brussels that if the report of the complaint was true, it would have ''serious consequences for bilateral relations'' and ''set in motion very dangerous mechanisms''.

Many Poles say German expellees want to rewrite history and portray themselves as victims of a war that Nazi Germany began -- with the occupation of Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Preussische Treuhand was unavailable for comment. Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily quoted the group's head, Gerwald Stanko, as saying the number of claims could rise to 40 or 50.

A spokesman for the League of Expellees, which represents millions of Germans forced from eastern Europe after 1945, said it was against the idea of the court case.

''We do not think it is the right way of going about things for our two countries,'' he said.

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