Restitution Oversight

September 10, 2008

SPECIAL HSF WEBSITE FEATURE

German Property List

Sale or compensation of stolen Jewish assets have yielded over $2 Billion since 1993

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. ("Claims Conference"), long under public pressure to conduct its affairs more transparently, has posted a list of over 11,000 former Jewish-owned properties and other assets in eastern Germany (including East Berlin). According to a Claims Conference statement dated August 6, 2008, the list includes all properties recovered by the Claims Conference since 1993 and subsequently sold on the market, or for which compensation payments were paid to the organization. Proceeds for the listed property exceed $2 billion or 1.4 billion Euro (€).

The assets -- all of which were either seized by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust or forced to be sold under duress at far below their true value -- are identified by city, address and amount of proceeds from sale or compensation. Unfortunately, the Claims Conference has chosen to omit from the list the names of original Jewish property owners, despite the fact that this information is in its possession. 

The list was posted on the Claims Conference website in a document format that makes it difficult to sort or search for specific properties by address. Holocaust Survivors' Foundation has converted this document to a more user-friendly Excel spreadsheet file format to assist the public in accessing and searching the list and locating family property.

You may open or download the Excel file here. For those who do not have Microsoft Excel installed on their computer, you may consider downloading a free Excel Viewer application from Microsoft. 

The original document posted by the Claims Conference including explanatory notes is here. The announcement of the list was quickly -- and without explanation -- removed from the organization's news archive, but a link still exists.

Users should note that the list covers only properties recovered and sold (or compensated) in former East Germany (including East Berlin) and does not include Jewish properties in former West Germany, nor does it include any properties for which a claim is still pending before the German authorities.

The following is a summary of some of the data revealed in the list:

No. of properties/assets listed     11,513

            Real Estate                       11,337

            Other assets*                         176

            Berlin only                            3130

Total listed value                 € 1,430,087,493   ($2.07 billion)

            Real Estate               € 1,429,434,067

            Other assets                       € 630,868

            Berlin only                     € 1,157,859,102

Average value of listed assets      € 124,215

            Berlin only                        € 369,923

* Other assets include mortgage equity ("Hypotheken"), bank accounts ("Bankkonten") and miscellaneous financial assets ("Geldvermögen") 

June 3, 2008

Der Spiegel: "Huge Profits Casts Shadow over Holocaust Survivors Organization"

One of Europe's leading newsmagazines features an exposé on the Claims Conference in its June 2nd edition. The story in Der Spiegel highlights many concerns voiced in the past by HSF, noting that "criticism of the powerful organization is growing in Israel and many are calling for greater transparency."

In related news, an Israeli court ruled on June 1 that the Claims Conference, which controls the distribution of millions in restitution funds allocated by the German government, "misled" and improperly denied claimants seeking to apply for one-time grants. The Court has ordered that the organization pay 1,365 eligible claimants living in Israel their due. See coverage in Yediot Ahronot (Ynet News) and Ha'aretz. The Court's published ruling is available in Hebrew only.

April 18, 2008

"Why Won't Those SOBs Give Me My Money?"

Holocaust Survivor Si Frumkin speaks out on Holocaust restitution in the Spring 2008 issue of Reform Judaism Magazine.

Other Resources

The Jewish Week, “Claims Conference revises Old Funding Formula,” by Stewart Ain

The Jewish Week, "Holocaust Era Claims: Mission Not Accomplished," by Yisroel Schulman of NYLAG

Jewish Political Studies Review 19:1-2 (Spring 2007), "Restitution of Holocaust-Era Assets: Promises and Reality," by Sidney Zabludoff

Great Reporter.com, “For Survivors, A Final Struggle,” by Keren Blankfeld Schultz

New York Times, “Losing Count,” by Thane Rosenbaum.

Jewish Currents, “Holocaust Restitution and the Claims Conference: Controversies over Organizational Accountability,” by Daniel Kadden

Jewish Chronicle (UK), “The man on the left earns $437,811 a year handling Shoah claims. So why are so many survivors pleading poverty?” by Jenni Frazer and Simon Rocker

Jewish Chronicle (UK), “Child Survivor: Lift the Veil of Secrecy Over Cash,” by Dr Michael Pinto-Duschinsky

Los Angeles Jewish Journal, “Many Aging Shoah Survivors are Living a New Nightmare,” By Marc Ballon

Cleveland Jewish News, “Clock is Ticking,” bu Marilyn H. Karfeld

Ynet News, “Where Did the Shoah Money Go?” by Michal Grayevsky, Oron Meiri

Ynet News, “Report: Claims Conference withholding money from survivors,” by Michal Grievsky