The situation as regards the restitution of jewelry and other valuables recovered from the Nazis who stole them from Hungarian Jews is confused, Ferenc Jeszenszky, general director of the Hungarian National Bank, today told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Jeszenszky also stated that the government intends make full restitution to Jewish owners of the property, although thus far only a few Jews — survivors of the towns of Tatatovaros and Nagykoros — whose property was la labelled envelopes have actually had any property returned to them. The bank official pointed out that included among the loot are pieces of Jewelry with Arrow Cross and Nazi emblems, proving that the Nazis did not restrict their looting to Jews. This situation tends to slow down the entire sorting operation which, the official declared, is not an overnight affair.
He said that in the event the property consists of scrap gold, gold bars or gold plate or medals of valuable metal, government regulations do not permit the return of the property in this form. In such cases the currency value of the Jewelry is deposited to the account of the owner or his heirs. All such accounts, however, are blocked pending clarification of the procedure for establishing rights to property. Finally, the bank director pointed out that there are specific procedures which the peace treaties bind Hungary to follow in the disposition of such property, adding that in every case the government is acting in consonance with such instructions.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
