Spoil of War, part 2.

This post is about the same subject as my previous one, but just form a different point of view.  This article is about spoils of war and who actually has ownership of some of these items.  I talked about this as one of the case studies for the museums class, but I wanted to go a little more in detail now.

One of the most prized pieces in Virginia firearms collector Kristopher Gasior's collection was his wz.38M Maroszek rifle.  The rifle was made in Poland just prior to Hitler's invasion in 1939.  Gasior decided to sell part of his collection, and he put the Maroszek up for sale online.  Poland saw it and had U.S. federal agents sieze the rifle.  They argued that the weapon was an essential part of Polish history and it was taken illegally during the war.

Gasior purchased the Maroszek rifle legally.  The rifle was even brough into the U.S. legally by a G.I. who had got it from Germans during the war.  So until Poland's intervention, it was a legal war trophy. 

So who is actually right in this situation?  It can be the same argument as the artwork the Germans took.  Gasior acquired it legally and the G.I. who brought it home did so completely lawfully, but the German soldier who took the rifle was the one who broke international law, if it even existed at that time.  At the time the article was written, the rifle was still in federal possession.  As the international debate continues it will stay there.  While I completely sympathize with Gasior, I believe that the rifle should go back to Poland.  If it was a German produced rifle or handgun, it would be completley fine to stay with the owner, but the simple fact is that someone, somewhere down the lineage of who owned this gun acquired it illegally.  That is why it should go back to Poland where it can be seen by the country who created it.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/va-collector-squares-off-with-his-home-country-over-rare-world-war-ii-rifle/2013/06/29/c8ff181a-dcf8-11e2-9218-bc2ac7cd44e2_story.html