Restitution For Holocaust Survivors

Restitution For Holocaust Survivors
   In Nazioccupied Europe, Jewish property and assets, including life insurance policies, bank accounts, and works of art, were seized by the Nazi government. In addition, Jews deposited millions of dollars of assets in banks outside the Third Reich, such as in Switzerland, from fear that the Nazis would seize their insurance policies and other liquid capital. Millions of these Jews, however, perished in the Holocaust and after the war survivors and children of those who perished demanded that financial institutions, such as the Swiss banks, make payments on the matured assets. However, without documentation, such as death certificates, many European banks, including the Swiss institutions, refused to honor the requests from the families of the victims. To address the issue of compensation, Jewish organizations were formed to enter into negotiations, if not legal action, to provide restitution for the Holocaust survivors and their families. The primary organizations that represented the claimants included the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, or Claims Conference, which represents world Jewry in negotiating for compensation and restitution for victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs. The Claims Conference, which was founded in 1951, administers compensation funds, recovers unclaimed Jewish property, and allocates funds to institutions that provide social welfare services to Holocaust survivors. These services include hunger relief, home care, medical assistance, and emergency cash grants. Nahum Goldmann, then president of the World Jewish Congress (JWC), was a cofounder of the Claims Conference, and JWC designates two members to its board of directors. The Claims Conference negotiated with the newly united German government in 1990 to enable original Jewish owners and heirs to file claims for properties in the former East Germany. In order that unclaimed properties should not revert to the state or to beneficiaries of Nazi policies, the Claims Conference also negotiated to recover unclaimed formerly Jewish properties in the former East Germany. The Claims Conference uses a small portion of the proceeds from the East German properties to support programs engaging in Holocaust education, documentation, and research. The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) was established in August 1998 to identify, settle, and pay individual Holocaust-era insurance claims at no cost to claimants. The ICHEIC entered into negotiations with representatives of international Jewish and survivor organizations, the State of Israel, European insurance companies, and U.S. insurance regulators. The result of the negotiations, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), was signed on 25 August 1998 by several European insurance companies.

Historical dictionary of the Holocaust. . 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • AMERICAN GATHERING OF JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS — AMERICAN GATHERING OF JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. Immediately after the World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Israel in June 1981, a new organization was established to prepare for another event, the American Gathering of Jewish… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Restitution Payments — The payment of punitive damages that are owed as a result of wrongdoing or neglect. Restitution payments are an attempt to restore a person to a previous financial condition that should have persisted save for the improper actions of another… …   Investment dictionary

  • The Holocaust — Holocaust and Shoah redirect here. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). Selection on …   Wikipedia

  • Swiss Banks —    Following the Nazi “seizure of power” in Germany in January 1933, Jews who feared the worst from the new government attempted to protect their assets by placing funds in Swiss banks. This precaution against an uncertain future was encouraged… …   Historical dictionary of the Holocaust

  • Holocaust in Norway — In the middle of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, there were 2,173 Jews in Norway. At least 775 of these were arrested, detained, and/or deported. 742 were murdered in the camps, 23 died as a result of extrajudicial execution, murder,… …   Wikipedia

  • Claims Conference —    See Restitution For Holocaust Survivors …   Historical dictionary of the Holocaust

  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — Coordinates: 38°53′13″N 77°01′59″W / 38.8869924°N 77.033021°W / 38.8869924; 77.033021 …   Wikipedia

  • Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors — (CJCS) Founded Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2000) Website http://www.cummingscentre.org/ CJCS( The Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors) is a constituent agency of FEDERATION CJA in Montreal, Quebec …   Wikipedia

  • Chronology —   1879 Wilhelm Marr, a member of the German Reichstag, coins the term “anti Semitism” and subsequently organizes the League of AntiSemitism.   1881 German composer Richard Wagner, in an essay titled “Know Thyself,” attacks Jews as the “demon… …   Historical dictionary of the Holocaust

  • MEMORY — holocaust literature in european languages historiography of the holocaust holocaust studies Documentation, Education, and Resource Centers memorials and monuments museums film survivor testimonies Holocaust Literature in European Languages The… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”