European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 21, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday March 21, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 2 stalinist victims regain polish citizenship Warsaw Poland a in a move to Clear away vestiges of stalinism the polish government has posthumously restored citizenship to a famed world War ii general and a postwar political Leader who opposed the communist takeover. Citizenship was restored to Gen. Wladyslaw Anders who led a polish army out of the soviet Union in 1941, through the Middle East across Northern Africa and through the Campaign for Italy where the army gained renown for its role in the Battle of Monte Cassi no. Also receiving citizenship again was Stanislaw Mikolajczyk a peasant party Leader who was Premier of the wartime London government in Chile and became the Only member of that government to agree to risk joining the communist led postwar coalition govern ment. Mikolajczyk became Deputy Premier in Warsaw but had to flee Poland in 1947 when it became Clear that he faced arrest and a show trial after the communists won a plebiscite that provided the basis for consolidating Power. He was denounced publicly As a foreign spy and lost his citizenship in 1949. He settled in the United states and died in 1966. Anders army was formed mainly from poles re leased from soviet prisons and internment Camps ini941 after the nazis invaded the soviet Union. It fought in the West As the second polish corps of the British eighth army. Anders never returned to Poland after the War an died in 1970 in England. Poland s provisional postwar government stripped him of citizenship in 1946 for harmful activities to the state principally remaining Loyal to the London in exile after the War and refusing to recognize the communist government. The official state news Agency Pap announced Sun Day that the acts cancelling the two men s citizenship were annulled March 15 by the Council of ministers. Similar decisions were taken toward three other lesser known non communist politicians. Anders and Mikolajczyk were people of patriotic merits even if they differed with communist authorities Pap said. The Council of ministers decided that even Sharp poli left political differences which ought not be erased or should not. Lead to expulsion from the Community of polish Pap said. In another dramatic gesture of reconciliation toward veterans of Anders army. Prime minister Micczyslaw f. Rakowski recently wrote a letter inviting Back pol ish tank commander Gen. Stanislaw Mayzck. Rakowski suggested that Mayzck 97, now a resident of Scotland return for a visit sept. I for ceremonies to Mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of world War ii. The general declined for reasons of health. The restoration of citizenship to Anders and Mikolajczyk comes at the same time when Poland s communist party has launched an investigation into the role of one of the two men s main political adversaries Poland s stalinist Era party Boss Holcslaw Bierut. Factories and schools named after Bierut arc consid ering changing their names and the politburo is looking into ways to compensate victims of repression in Poland in the 1940s and 1950s. The Campaign runs parallel to soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev s drive against stalinism in the soviet Union. Pan for mobster movie triggered mafia clash los Angeles a a film proposal to depict the Story of a mob Leader the late Meyer Lansky spurred a struggle Between two powerful mafia families according to Federal court documents. Recently unsealed Fri affidavits revealed evidence Hal new York s Geno vase crime family wanted to win the Lead role for actor James Caan the los an a Clos times reported sunday. A Hollywood executive backing a Dif Ferent script about Lansky turned for help to Gambino crime family according to the affidavits. The present status of the rival concepts weren t reported. The involvement of the Gino vase an Gambino crime families demonstrated the fascination mobsters have with their images As Well As with potential profits from Box office successes the times said. The bickering Over the Lansky film began in 1987 when the untouchables a film about treasury1 agent Elliot Ness Campaign against mobster Al Ca Pone already had grossed nearly $75 Mil lion the newspaper said. Lansky died in 1983 at 81. He was what investigators called the undisputed patriarch of an organized crime Syndi Cate founded on drugs loan sharking gambling and prostitution. Martin Bacow a writer producer and labor negotiator claimed to have known Lansky and said in 1987 that he already had a Lansky script in hand. Eugene f. Giaquinto then president of Mca inc s Home video division tentatively offered to pay Bacow $4.5 million for the video and pay television rights to the film if it were made the newspaper said. Bui Bacow said Caan was proposing his own Lansky project and allegedly told several reputed members of the los Angeles mafia family during a dinner party that the rival movie would never be distributed the newspaper reported. Caan s attorney Donald e. Santarelli said the actor dined with mafia figures but neither made nor was aware of any attempt to interfere with Bacow s project. He called the dinners research by the actor saying that Caan has had a fascination with organized crime figures since his Oscar nominated performance in the there is no evidence he knew that the mob tried to intercede in his behalf the newspaper said. But the Fri is investigating whether Gino vase family members tried to pres sure Bacow and Giaquinto. Federal agents also contend Giaquinto said in a Telephone Call that he had thwarted Gino Vest pressure tactics by get Ting help from the Gambino crime family. Giaquinto was unavailable for com ment sunday. He was put on forced leave of absence from Mca and his at Torney Richard p. Crain jr., docs not have a local Telephone listing. A Call to Mca was not answered. A appeased in defeat Chang Chung Poon seeks to devour 7,000 peas in an hour at a London chinese restaurant sunday. He May have minded his peas and even q a but he failed to cat his nay into he record books at the Chopstick Challenge treasure Hunter to search for sunken French ship Boston a when Jonathan Blasczak was 12 years old he read about an 8lh-Ccnlury French ship that Sank in Boston Harbor. Twenty years later he has received permission to search for the wreck and its reputed riches. After researching the journals of French soldiers and other documents Blasczak. 32, a construction worker from Hopkinton mass., believes the ship contains be tween $50 million and $500 million in Gold coins and other cargo. It s like reliving a childhood dream said Blasc Zak who read about the Magn Fique in an Edward Rowe Snow Book shipwrecks around new eng Back then it might not have been that easy to do but with the technology we have now it s last fall the state Board of underwater Archac Logi Cal resources approved Blasczak s request to search for the Magn Fique a French vessel that ran aground near the end of the revolutionary War. Blasczak plans to begin initial work on the site with in a few Days. The 218-foot ship May have been carrying up to 500 soldiers when it Sank in August 1782, said blasc7ak. The wooden vessel was weakened by a tour of the Caribbean where a parasite called the Teredo had eaten at its Hull. Blasczak said his research could not uncover whether men died when the ship Sank in less than an hour or if they were ferried to safety. The French were very secretive about their Navy Back then he said. Blasczak said records culled from the Marine museum in Paris and the journals of French soldiers Al Lude to a cargo that May have included 300,000 Pis Toles French Gold coins that were also called Louis d ors. Last year Blasczak and his team dived with a magnetometer which detects magnetic metals and a sonar system that uses sound Waves to detect objects and found a Large mass t believe to be the wreck. They believe the snip is under 20 feet of water an buried under 5 feet of Sand and mud. Blasczak said the currents have changed Over the years and the mud Isnow washing off the Magn Fique exposing it. Victor Mastone associate director of the Board of underwater Archa logical resources said Blasczak Splan is the second involving a search in Boston har Bor called the nation s filthiest. Barry Clifford who found the wreck of the whydah off the Massachusetts coast several years ago with Arti facts estimated at $40 million has received initial per Mission to search for the crates of Tea thrown into the Harbor during the Boston Tea party before the revolutionary War. It s like people arc just finding out there s a lot out there Mastone said. Blasczak is working with a Crew of seven including three divers. Robert Cembrola executive director of the Marine museum of fall River is in charge of Cata Loging any items retrieved from the wreck. I called my Best Friend from 20 years ago and told him about it Blasczak said. He could t believe i was actually doing what we talked about so Long
