Holocaust Restitution:
Compensation & Restitution, by Country

The information presented herein is intended for information purposes only and solely as a general guide. The information is not intended as legal advice. It is a summary of specific issues and does not represent a definitive or complete statement of the programs and policies of the agencies or governments mentioned. The information may not address the special needs, interests and circumstances of individual recipients. Individual situations differ and recipients are urged to seek individual advice.Individuals seeking specific information on a program are urged to contact the relevant program or to consult their social service agency or help center representative. To the best of our knowledge the information is correct as of the date of this document and this information may change subsequent to the said date.
Updated December, 2005.

The chart is also available in printable (PDF) format: [Compensation and Restitution at a Glance]

$7000 PAYMENT: EXPIRED
June 30, 2004

The National Fund was negotiated by the Claims Conference's Committee for Jewish Claims on Austria (CJCA) and established in 1995.

The fund makes one-time payments of Euro 5,087.10 to survivors from Austria (NO DEADLINE to apply). Under a later agreement negotiated by the Claims Conference, an amendment provides a supplemental compensation payment of $ 7,000 for household and personal property, and lost leases.

A second supplemental payment of Euro 1,000 was announced in September 2004. This supplemental compensation is being sent to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution from Austria who received the $7,000.

No application form is required. Heirs are eligible.

Nazi victims from Austria can often qualify for old age, disability and survivor pensions provided they pay retroactive contributions at a reduced rate (negotiated by the Claims Conference's Committee for Jewish Claims on Austria).

In 2001, alongside the property restitution agreement negotiated by the Claims Conference with the Government of Austria (see below) was a package that liberalized the criteria required to qualify for these social welfare benefits: Nursing Allowance for Austrian Survivors Living Abroad (Pflegegeld) General Social Insurance Pension (ASVG) Victims' Pensions (Opferrenten)

EXPIRED DECEMBER 31, 2004

It is still possible to file certain claims under the so-called LRTERE law (Law on Reinstatement of Title of Expropriated Real Estate). While title automatically reverted back to original owner at enactment of this law without need to file a claim, potential claimants must still file a “request for possession” to regain physical possession of property. Such re-possession s not always possible at this time.

The Jewish Community and WJRO are pressing for several changes in the law, e.g. citizenship and dates of confiscation, as well as its decentralized administration

National Board of Industrial Injuries
Aebelogade 1
P.O. Box 3000
2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel.: (45) 3917 7700
Fax: (45) 3917 7711
Email: [email protected]

On the Internet:
» Information on Compensation for Victims
of the Occupation Period (World War II)
[PDF format]

NO DEADLINE

Reassessment of claims awarded before July 1 1997:

JUNE 30, 2006 to obtain retroactive backpay to 1997

»  ZRBG “Ghetto Pension”
Old Age/Social Security pension covering certain work periods in a relevant Nazi-annexed or occupied Ghetto.

» Payments for Child Rearing
(Kindererziehungszeiten)
Small monthly payments (about 20-40 Euro per month per child) for some persecutees, whose children were born before January 1, 1950:

» For women born before January 1, 1921 an independent benefit that may be paid separately or together with another German Social Security pension.

» For men or women born after December 31, 1920, the possibility of counting child rearing periods as insured periods to increase an existing German Social Security pension.

ZRBG Ghetto Pension claims are handled by different pension insurance offices (Deutsche Rentenversicherung, formally known as LVA) according to current country of residence. For a partial list relevant to survivors click here

The website of the main Federation of Pension Institutes (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund) provides the addresses of all regional pension insurance institutes,
http://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de

EXPIRED March 31, 2004

Under the Goodwill Fund established by the Claims Conference Successor Organization, owners and/or heirs of unclaimed properties in the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) have been able to apply for payments that are awarded pursuant to the guidelines of the Goodwill Fund, in cases where the Claims Conference obtains compensation or restitution for the asset.

The Claims Conference posted on its website the list of original owners of properties for which it has filed claims as Successor Organization in the former East Germany . These are owners of properties which have been awarded to the Claims Conference by the German Restitution Authority, or that are awaiting adjudication.

» Property:
Hungary enacted a law on the partial restitution of private property in 1991. The compensation received was approximately 5-10% of market value, in local vouchers to be used only in Hungary to buy shares in privatized companies or land at state auctions. The legislation did not provide compensation for assets such as securities, insurance policies, bank accounts, or looted artwork.

The Jewish Heritage of Hungary Public Endowment was created by Hungarian legislation in 1997 and was granted with funds from restituted Jewish communal properties. The fund pays monthly pensions to approximately 18,000 Hungarian Holocaust survivors.

The Jewish Heritage of Hungary
Public Endowment (MAZSOK)
Tukory u 3
Budapest, Hungary 1054

Website: www.mazsok.hu
(Hungarian)
http://www.mazsok.hu/english
(English)

» HUNGARIAN “GOLD TRAIN”:
On March 17, 2005, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida preliminarily approved the Hungarian Gold Train settlement.Allegations were made that the United States mishandled the personal property (a train of approximately twenty-four freight cars that contained personal property taken, seized, confiscated or stolen by the Hungarian government from Hungarian Jews) after the U.S. Army took such property into its custody at the conclusion of World War II and that the United States improperly disposed of some of the property.Under the settlement, approximately $21 million provided by the US government will fund social service programs benefiting Jewish Hungarian victims of Nazi persecution.

If approved, the Claims Conference will be administering these allocations pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement and under court jurisdiction.In addition, the Claims Conference is implementing the worldwide Notice Program on behalf of the Court.The Claims Conference also participated in the mediation leading to the settlement.

Hungarian Gold Train Notice Provider
P.O. Box 1570
New York, New York 10159
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.HungarianGoldTrain.org

Toll free Help Center numbers:
Australia 1-800-35-7208
Canada 1-800-562-0831
Hungary 00-800-737-47576
Israel 1-80-921-4806
United States 1-800-562-0831

» Property: Office of The General Custodian
The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee For the Location and Restitution of Assets of Holocaust Victims, created in 2000, led to the establishment of a special unit of the Office of the General Custodian. The Office has published a list of missing persons who owned assets that were transferred into its possession, with names of persons who were most likely killed in the Holocaust.

The General Custodian
216 Jaffa Road P.O.B 36278
94383 Jerusalem, Israel
Fax: 972-2-5311-681.
www.justice.gov.il
/MOJHeb/
ApotroposKlali/
(Website and List are in Hebrew).

Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael
Office of the Legal Advisor
POB 283
Jerusalem 91002
http://www.kkl.org.il
(Hebrew)

Press Releases

» Private Property
There is no legislation governing the restitution of private property.

In March 2001 the Polish parliament approved a law for the restitution of private property, restricting the right to file a claim to persons having Polish citizenship as of December 31, 1999. The Polish president vetoed the law.

Certain steps are being taken and pressure from the Jewish world is continuing, but currently there is no claims process for private property restitution.

For further information on this effort and the on-going work of the Holocaust Restitution Committee and others, consult their website.

Law 247/2005 enacted on July 25 2005 includes certain amendments to Law 10/2001 that may help to resolve certain pending claims filed under the 2002 deadline.

For information on registration:
Bureau of Property
Republic of Serbia
Gračanička Street #8
11 000 Belgrade
Serbia & Montenegro

For the International Helpline Telephone Numbers, consult ICHEIC at www.icheic.org

If unable to reach one of the international numbers, dial 1-646-519-8787 and an operator will call you back