Victims of nazism claiming restitution for property seized in certain areas of Poland under Nazi control at the time will no longer have to prove that their property was transferred to Germany in order to obtain compensation, the Israel Finance Ministry announced today.
Previously, claimants were required to prove that their confiscated assets had been physically transferred to Germany territory in order to qualify for compensation. Such proof was virtually impossible to establish. The German restitution authorities, however, under a new ruling, have accepted evidence that there was a systematic transfer of confiscated assets from the “Government-General” of Poland and from the cities of Posen, Kattowice and Lodz and the individual claimants no longer have to prove the transfer took place.
Claimants for property seized in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Hungary will still be required to prove that their property had been transferred to Germany. Claimants for property seized in the Rumanian provinces of Bukovina and Transnistria will be entitled to compensation for losses only after August 1941 unless the claimant can prove German influence on the Rumanian authorities prior to that date. Claims will also be recognized of the victims of the pogrom in Jassy, Rumania, in June 1941 and of the victims of deportation from the Districts of Arad, Temisora and Turada in the summer of 1942. In these cases, claims will be recognized for loss of freedom and damage to health as well as property losses.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
