No one knows how to estimate the value and extent of the Jewish property that was looted in the Holocaust, although it is clear to everyone that it is many billions of dollars embodied in diverse assets - from private homes, through synagogues and community institutions, to rare works of art that were looted by the Nazis and their collaborators.
However, beyond the financial issue, this is first and foremost a matter of principle for the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, for their families and, in fact, for the entire Jewish people.
The common phrase that comes to mind in this context is "you murdered and you also inherited" - a double injustice done to millions of Holocaust victims and continues to this day.
However, although for us, as Jews, it is clear that this is an issue of historical justice, the struggle for the return of Jewish property is a sensitive and explosive issue in Europe, which poses enormous challenges to ILR - the World Jewish Organization for the Restitution of Property, which is considered the official representative of the Jewish people on this issue.
Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland, photo: AP
A fight over property that was stolen decades ago can easily fuel anti-Semitic stereotypes about "Jewish greed", which various parties who are not interested in returning the property do not hesitate to exploit.
Beyond that, this is a complicated legal issue of its kind: every European country where Jewish property has been confiscated deals with the matter according to its own laws, and naturally many of them are unwilling to cooperate with the effort to return the property or pay compensation for it.
This is how ILR finds itself conducting negotiations with no less than 17 European governments in an attempt to obtain historical justice for the victims and their families. In addition, naturally, the topic of property restitution never opens the news or is at the top of the public agenda, which is loaded with current issues more urgent for public opinion and European politicians.
An unusual conference in the European Parliament under the title "Incomplete justice", photo: Tamir Moorg
Against this background, an extraordinary conference was held today (Tuesday) in the European Parliament under the title "Unfinished Justice", which was designed to place the issue on the agenda of the Union and to mobilize political support for the second Terezin Conference to be held in November in the Czech Republic, at the level of foreign ministers
At the first conference, held in 2009, 46 countries signed the "Terezin Declaration" in which they pledged to promote the restitution of Jewish property looted in the Holocaust.
Since then, achievements have been recorded in several countries, but others - most notably Poland - continue to create difficulties in the attempts to return the property.
Union has no tools
The fight on the issue within the institutions of the Union is led by ILR and member of the European Parliament Charles Gorens from Luxembourg. Gorens drafted a proposal for a resolution that will be voted on by the plenary of the Parliament, and according to its draft the European Union is expected to officially call on its member states to "urgently speed up the restitution or reparations For property that was unjustly stolen during and after the Holocaust, as long as the remaining survivors are alive."
The draft resolution also calls on countries that have not yet done so to "adopt comprehensive legislation for the restitution of property, which does not discriminate on the basis of current residency and does not contain administrative barriers."
However, despite the good will of members of parliament such as Gorens, the reality is that the European Union has no real tools with which it can force its member states to regulate the issue.
"This is first of all a moral struggle, and therefore it seems obvious to me that justice should be done," Gorens said in response to "Israel Today"'s question on the matter.
The conference was designed to gather political support for the second Terezin Conference, photo: Tamir Moorg
As mentioned, the most challenging country in regards to property recovery is Poland.
"The Jewish community in Poland was huge, and therefore the amount of property that was stolen from it is very large," explained Colt Avital, chairman of the Holocaust Survivors Organization Center in Israel. In fact, the amount of property is so large that its full restitution would deal a severe economic blow to Poland. Against the background of the difficult conditions The Polish government maintains a problematic and hostile policy, which is not content with inaction but actively thwarts efforts to recover property.
"Survivors and their families have no desire to evict a Polish family who lives in an apartment that at one time belonged to Jews," emphasizes Mark Weizman, ILAR's chief operating officer. "This is a fundamental issue of acknowledging injustice and closing an open wound.
We do not necessarily demand the restitution of the property itself or compensations that embody its true value, but first and foremost to take responsibility and acknowledge the historical injustice." Senior ILR Gideon Taylor added: "For Holocaust survivors, the restitution of property is an acknowledgment of the destruction of their families and an opportunity to reconnect even if only to a small part of their lives that was unjustly taken from them."
"The State of Israel will continue the fight to recover the property of the Holocaust victims,"
Despite this, the Polish parliament enacted a law a few years ago that forbids private individuals whose family property was confiscated in the Holocaust or after it, by the communist regime, to claim its restitution.
The law, in parallel with another law that imposed criminal sanctions on anyone who would claim Polish responsibility for the Holocaust, created a crisis in relations between Warsaw and Jerusalem that has not been fully resolved to this day.
"The Poles are in a very complex position," says Weizman.
"On the one hand they were victims and on the other hand there were many among them who collaborated with the crimes of the Nazis, and they are having difficulty reconciling this contradiction."
There is willingness
On the other hand, other countries such as Latvia, Serbia, Luxembourg and to some extent also Romania are considered success stories of the complex struggle waged by the ILR. These countries took historical responsibility - even if each to a different degree - and allowed the survivors, their descendants and the Jewish communities to receive compensation for the stolen property In some cases, such as in Romania, the struggle has not been completed, but the willingness of the authorities to discuss the remaining open issues is evident.
"Without the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jewish Agency, the Claims Conference, and politicians like Charles Gorans, who have the issue in their hearts, we would not have had the ability to produce achievements in this struggle, because no one is eager to listen to the Jews who demand historical justice for crimes committed decades ago," says Weizmann.
Indeed, ILR succeeds in mobilizing significant support for the struggle not only in Europe and Israel, but also on the other side of the ocean: "I will do everything in my power to ensure that the subject of property restitution is left in the order of priorities of American foreign policy," said Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, in a recorded message he delivered to the gathering in the European Parliament.
"It is important to understand that we are not involved in concrete lawsuits to recover property - our goal is to create conditions that will allow these lawsuits, and for all the reasons stated above, this is not an easy task," explains ILR CEO Nahaliel Deason.
Dan HaZari, who is responsible for the fight to recover property on behalf of the Foreign Ministry, told the members of the European Parliament who participated in the gathering: "When I entered the field I was innocent, I was sure that all the parties involved would cooperate with the recognition of this historical injustice. I never imagined that I would find myself in a maze of politics and interests."
According to Haim Regev, Israel's ambassador to the European Union, "The State of Israel will continue the fight to return the property of the Holocaust victims, this is a moral obligation to do justice.
Today's event in the parliament is another important step towards the Tirzan conference in November, and on this occasion I call on the members of parliament to continue to promote significant steps in this moral struggle.'
However, over the struggle for the restitution of Jewish property hovers the great shadow of the hourglass, which is running out: the number of Holocaust survivors who remain alive decreases every year, and it is clear to everyone that this is the last opportunity to do justice, even if only partially, to the victims who are still alive and wish for a belated recognition of their suffering, before they leave the the world.
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