ࡱ> JLI'` 0@%bjbj 46%```````tX X X 8  $tY% " $$$$$$$$G&h(d$`W WW$`` %W` ` $W$#``H$ PX #$)%0Y%#)|)(H$)`H$| cp $$OX Y%WWWWtttX tttX ttt``````  Governor Moshe Sanbar, Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel Property Restitution from Jewish Perspective Since the fall of the communist regime in Eastern Europe three major agreements were reached in connection with Jewish property resolution: The legislation regarding East Germany The Swiss banks WJRO agreement of $1,250 million The international Holocaust Era Insurance Committees agreements with the major European insurance companies of $550 million. I would like to elaborate on those understandings on which these agreements are based. In each case, both sides accepted: That Jewish properties have to be restituted or compensated for to the original Jewish owners, regardless in whose possession these assets were currently. Serious efforts have to be taken that the original owners, or their legitimate heirs, should be able to proof their legal rights regarding these assets. Since most of the original owners are not alive anymore, this effort must have the utmost importance. Therefore access to archival reports is necessary and governments should facilitate such access. Reasonable alternative evidence should be permitted if archives have been destroyed. Privacy protection laws which interfere with researching the ownership history of the property should be modified and liberalized for the interested parties If the heirs or the original owners cant be found, the unclaimed or heirless assets should be transferred into a special fund for assisting needy Jewish Holocaust survivors . It is not acceptable, for example, that the insurance company which issued the policy should continue to keep its unpaid value and, in fact, become its heir. In case of unclaimed property of all kinds in East Germany, the German law decided that the Claims Conference will be the legitimate heir. Regarding the Swiss settlement, the Federal District Court in Brooklyn will decide upon the exact uses of the unclaimed residual funds for the benefit of Jewish Holocaust survivors. In the case of ICHEIC, a special humanitarian fund was established for the same purpose. I mentioned all this since I believe that this Conference should accept the same principles, and afterwards each state should develop a similar system. That means, first of all to try to restitute the property in rem to the original Jewish owners, or their heirs, and if that is not possible, to pay them a fair compensation. In case of unclaimed or heirless property each state should establish a special fund for supporting needy Jewish Holocaust survivors, of its own country, regardless if those survivors live now in the country, or elsewhere. In other words, the heirless Jewish property in a country should be used only for the benefit of needy Jewish survivors of, or from, that country. The scope and the total value of the unclaimed Jewish property can be calculated by an estimate of the total Jewish assets before WWII, and then deduct from that estimate the actual payments (on the same terms) to the owners or heirs for their properties. This process must take time, but if we believe, and we should, that the assistance for needy survivors is urgent, since they are old and of poor health, each state should establish, as soon as possible, a special fund and start the assistance process. This special fund will be much less than the total amount of the estimated heirless property. The remaining amount should be paid, during a relatively long period, in consideration with the financial ability of the state. This system is based on justice and moral values on one hand, and on the economic strength of the state, on the other hand. Restitution of Jewish properties commenced in East Germany only after the fall of the Communist regime. The first major legislation was enacted in 1990 for achieving the return of nationalized properties to the former owners. That means, if a Jewish property was taken, or lost, or forcibly sold by the Nazis, and later taken over by the Communists, these assets would be returned to the so called owners during the Nazi reform. In order to avoid such injustice, the German law clarified that in such cases the property should be returned to the original Jewish owners or their heirs. I assume that the general situation in other former communist countries is similar, and therefore also the actions to be taken should be similar. Although the situation in Germany is morally totally different from that in the other countries, since Germany was the perpetrator of the Shoah, the greatest crime known to humanity, the comprehensiveness of the legislative program can be used as a model for property restitution elsewhere. The Nazis took over the Jewish properties illegally by disregarding the international law. This is generally not the case in the other countries. But even so, the original Jewish owners were never paid by the so called new owners, and therefore, they are entitled to receive at least a fair compensation when in rem restitution is not feasible. National governments should take the necessary steps to ensure that their restitution policies are implemented at regional and municipal levels of government, which often control the bulk of the property. Restitution laws and procedures should apply to both private property owned by individuals or corporate entities, and communal property owned by communities or religious organizations. The legal procedures used to evaluate specific claims should be clear, simple, transparent and non-discriminatory. All of us must remember, that during the Shoah 6 million Jews were killed, out of the 8 million who lived in Europe prior to WWII. But the wealth and property were plundered from everyone of the 8 million Jews! This extraordinary phenomenon makes the Shoah so unique. This is why extraordinary measures are needed to deal with its terrible results. This conference should encourage governments to introduce changes in their legislation, if it does not follow the requirements of the morality, justice and conscience expressed here. The legislation should be based on the following principles: Unrestituted Jewish property of all kinds (immovable property, financial assets, looted art, Judaica, etc.) should be returned to its original owners or their heirs. Where in rem restitution is not feasible a fair compensation should be paid. Heirless property should be transferred to a special fund designed to help needy survivors from that country. In each country a special committee should be established in order to decide upon the principles and method of compensation. Such committees should consist of high level state officials, of representatives of the local Jewish community and of WJRO, representing members of the local Jewish community living presently abroad. Whereas the survivors are aging, many of them suffering from poor health and requiring immediate help, the committees should determine the establishment of a special fund, financed by the government, in order to start the operation as soon as possible. This payment will be considered as a part of the fund for heirless property. An international standing committee should be established for the follow up of the implementation of the resolutions, and to advise national committees if necessary. Our main message should be never again! Not to the Jewish people, and to any other ethnic group!     PAGE  PAGE 1 "#(9MPWY. 3 M N O Q q r Z [ j 04UV¾h0.Dh!hLqhK < haQ>*haQhaQ>*h0<hr hLqhLqhaQh8zhaQCJ aJ h0<h8z5CJ \aJ hlrCJ aJ hLqCJ aJ h0<CJ aJ h8zCJ aJ hsyCJ aJ 8WXY ; n h $hd^ha$gdK <$ & Fda$gd0<$ & Fda$gdA$ & Fda$gdK < $da$gdK <dgd8z$a$gdlr$a$gd8z%?%h Z [ IJbcEFQR($d^a$gd1$8d^8a$gd1$8d^8a$gd0<$8d^8a$gdT 8d^8gd!$ & Fda$gd0<HIJ #ABQRSVno+ab+,9G3be+@ab FSTUXcdIռոѸѸѯѯh^hTh hKV>*hKVhph0<h!>* h!>*hK <h0<hLqhaQ h0.D5h! h0.Dh0.Dh0.D5B*phh0<hK <\B57QRz s"t"#$$$$$$$%%%%% %!%#%$%&%'%-%.%/%1%2%8%9%:%;%<%>%?%@%ÿÿÿÿhA0JmHnHuh$ h$0Jjh$0JUhW@4jhW@4Uh8zh8zCJ aJ h0<>* h:>*h:hh1h0<h^>*h0<h^hT6() !~!"$$$$%%%% %"%#%%%&%/% &`#$gd$$ & Fda$gd1$8d^8a$gd0<$8d^8a$gd1 8d^8gd^/%0%1%<%=%>%?%@%$8d^8a$gd1 &`#$gd$21h:psy/ =!"#$% 666666666vvvvvvvvv666666>6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666hH666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666F@F sy dCJ_HaJmH sH tH JA@J     NiN 0  4 l4a ,k, 0   @O@ Lq List Paragraph ^@ @@ 1    9r *)@* 1  @6WXY;nhZ[IJ  bcEFQR()~ "#%&/01<=>A0000000000000 0 0 00 00 00000000000000000000 0 0 0 0 0 0000@0@00@0@0000@0000@00@0A0000@0@00 0 00 $$$'@%h (/%@%?%  '!!8@0(  B S  ?#,l}NOTOOOJ KLKKK D!DPP..[[u`3A     VV::qq}g9A :*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsStreet; *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsaddressB*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagscountry-region9*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace lR  # )z "#%&>Ah~ &3  Uczx "#%&>A33333333; "#%&>A "#%&>A\5E[=qb? W-MWqX.\‚/FIwE s{q^`o() ^`hH. pL^p`LhH. @ ^@ `hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. PL^P`LhH.^`o() p^p`hH. @ L^@ `LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. P^P`hH.  L^ `LhH.8^8`o() ^`hH.  L^ `LhH.  ^ `hH. x^x`hH. HL^H`LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH.^`o() p^p`hH. @ L^@ `LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. P^P`hH.  L^ `LhH.^`o() p^p`hH. @ L^@ `LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. P^P`hH.  L^ `LhH.^`o() ^`hH. pL^p`LhH. @ ^@ `hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. PL^P`LhH.^`o() p^p`hH. @ L^@ `LhH. ^`hH. ^`hH. L^`LhH. ^`hH. P^P`hH.  L^ `LhH.\5b? s{X.\FIw-MW[=         rV                L        sy r pAW@4K <0.DEOlr8zaQ$:Lq^KV-T10<!YA@^@@@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial7&{ @Calibri"1h(f&f A3A3!4d  2QHX $P2Moshe Sanbar, StefanellaDanni(       Oh+'0h  $ 0 <HPX`Moshe Sanbar,  Stefanella Normal.dotDanni4Microsoft Office Word@e@6@ A՜.+,0 hp|  3 ' Moshe Sanbar,   !"#%&'()*+,-./012345678:;<=>?@BCDEFGHKRoot Entry F0 MData 1Table$;)WordDocument46SummaryInformation(9DocumentSummaryInformation8ACompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q