Luxembourg began paying compensation for Jewish property looted during the Holocaust Israel today

Holocaust survivors from Luxembourg will receive a first payment of 5,000 euros this month for property stolen from them during the German occupation in World War II.

In the agreement, signed in January this year, Luxembourg undertook to allocate a total of one million euros in compensation to Holocaust survivors.

The Claims Conference began distributing the compensation money after the Luxembourg Holocaust Memorial Fund confirmed the eligibility of dozens of survivors living in 11 countries, including Israel.

Each Holocaust survivor will receive the first payment by the end of the month, and the second and final payment is expected to be made in March 2022. To ensure that more Holocaust survivors have enough time to apply for the program, the deadline for submitting applications is January 31, 2022.  

The Luxembourg Agreement on the Restitution of Property from the Holocaust Period was signed on January 27, 2021, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The agreement is between the World Jewish Organization for the Restitution of Property (ILR), the Luxembourg Government, the Luxembourg Jewish Community and the Luxembourg Foundation in Memory of the Holocaust. Or lived in Luxembourg at any time from January 1933 to May 1945.

The agreement further stipulates that the million euros will be divided equally among the applicants who will be found eligible.

The exact amount that each survivor will receive can be calculated only after the total number of beneficiaries has been determined.

In addition to the compensation plan, the agreement also provides dedicated resources for Holocaust commemoration, research and education on the subject.

The agreement also addresses key restitution issues, including dormant bank accounts and insurance policies and looted artwork.

"The compensation plan is an important recognition by the Luxembourg government of how the Holocaust was carried out under Nazi occupation and of the suffering caused to the Jews of Luxembourg," said Gideon Taylor, chairman of ILAR.

"We are pleased that the survivors will soon receive their first payments. We also call on anyone who may be eligible for the program to apply by the new deadline - January 31, 2022. I emphasize that all survivors will receive equal payments, regardless of the date of their application."

According to Taylor, "These funds provide a measure of justice and will help survivors live their lives with the respect they deserve." 

"As the survivors age, so does the importance of Luxembourg's compensation program," said Lauren Moises, president of the Luxembourg Holocaust Remembrance Foundation.

"Luxembourg's decision to provide direct support to Holocaust survivors is a statement of a continuing commitment to support Jews who were persecuted and suffered so much during the Nazi occupation."

Chaya Nevo, a Luxembourg-born Holocaust survivor living in Israel, said in response: "I was born near the beginning of the war and my parents were taken to Auschwitz. After many hardships in which my brother and I separated, we immigrated at the end of the war. "We are not hungry for bread but we welcome the decision of the Luxembourg government. It is definitely better late than never."

Requests for compensation can be sent to this address: LuxembourgFund@claimscon.org