Slovenia

2019 ◽  
pp. 415-430
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Private Property ◽  
World War ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
The Law ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Property Restitution

Yugoslavia (which included present-day Slovenia) was occupied by Germany, Italy, and Hungary during World War II, and immovable property was confiscated. Roughly 90 percent of the Jews who lived in Slovenia before World War II were murdered during the war. Postwar Yugoslavia enacted a short-lived property restitution law. As Yugoslavia fell under Communist rule, widespread nationalization resulted in a second wave of property confiscations. Slovenia gained its independence in 1991 and that same year passed a denationalization law, which was later amended to permit foreign nationals to make property claims. The law addresses the restitution of private property nationalized between 1945 and 1963. The law has also been used to gain return of communal property. Some communal property has been returned to the Jewish community in Slovenia, despite lack of specific legislation. Slovenia has not passed legislation for the restitution of heirless property. Slovenia endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Serbia

2019 ◽  
pp. 385-400
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Nazi Germany ◽  
Property Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Property Restitution

Yugoslavia (which included present-day Serbia) was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941. Nazi Germany established a brutal occupation. Other parts of modern-day Serbia were occupied by Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy. Roughly 85 percent of the Jews who lived in Serbia before World War II were murdered. Postwar war Yugoslavia enacted a short-lived property restitution law. As Yugoslavia fell under Communist rule, widespread nationalization resulted in a second wave of property confiscations. Restitution began in the 2000s. Serbia is the only country that has enacted private property restitution legislation since endorsing the Terezin Declaration in 2009. Serbia has also passed communal property legislation—albeit with key limitations whose effects have disproportionately negatively impacted the Jewish community. In February 2016, Serbia enacted heirless property restitution legislation and the first country to enact an heirless property law since the Terezin Declaration was drafted in 2009. Serbia endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Croatia

2019 ◽  
pp. 81-98
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
World War ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
Yugoslavian Republic ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Property Restitution

Yugoslavia (which included present-day Croatia) was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941 and immovable property was confiscated. After the war, Yugoslavia enacted a property restitution law, but it was short-lived. As Yugoslavia fell under Communist rule, widespread nationalization—which this time occurred irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity—resulted in a second wave of property confiscations. It was not until the early 1990s that the post–Yugoslavian Republic of Croatia enacted its first set of denationalization legislation. Croatia’s main restitution laws, however, were not enacted until after the conclusion of the conflicts in the Balkans, which began in 1991 and ended in 1995. Croatia has since passed legislation relating to restitution of private and communal property, albeit with certain key limitations. Ambiguity in one of the main restitution laws left it unclear whether property confiscated during World War II was included. Croatia endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Montenegro

2019 ◽  
pp. 273-290
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Private Property ◽  
World War ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Jewish Refugees ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Property Restitution

Yugoslavia (which included present-day Montenegro) was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941 and immovable property was confiscated. Only an estimated 30 Jews lived in Montenegro prior to World War II. During the war, Montenegro received Jewish refugees from neighboring Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the war, Yugoslavia enacted a property restitution law, but it was short-lived. As Yugoslavia fell under Communist rule, widespread nationalization—which this time occurred irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity—resulted in a second wave of property confiscations. The Republic of Montenegro in its current form came into existence in 2006. Restitution in Montenegro began in earnest in the 2000s, after nearly 50 years of Communist rule. During this period, Montenegro passed two property restitution laws, which chiefly addressed the issue of private property restitution. The most recent property restitution law included language that a separate law would be enacted to address communal property restitution. To date, no such law has been passed, but the government has stated that its deadline to adopt the law is the end of 2018. No provisions for heirless property have been made. Montenegro endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Latvia

2019 ◽  
pp. 213-224
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Private Property ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Property Restitution

During World War II, the independent Republic of Latvia was attacked and formally annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. It was subsequently invaded and occupied by Germany in 1941 until Soviet troops re-entered the country in 1944. Shortly after Latvia’s independence was restored in 1990, Latvia began enacting private property restitution laws. The goal was to undo over 50 years of nationalization and confiscation under Communism and to renew the property rights of all former owners, Jews and non-Jews alike. Latvia was also quick to enact religious property legislation in 1992, albeit with restrictions that uniquely impacted the Jewish community. A portfolio of legislation that returned five additional communal properties was passed by the Parliament in early 2016. No legislation has been enacted dealing specifically with heirless property. Latvia endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Romania

2019 ◽  
pp. 359-378
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
World War ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
Second Wave

Romania was allied with Germany for most of World War II. Extensive “Romanianization” (akin to Germany’s Aryanization) of Jewish property took place. More than 400,000 Romanian Jews died during the Holocaust. After switching sides in the war, Romania promptly enacted legislation to reverse the theft of property. Little was done, however, to act on these commitments during the Communist regime (1945–1989). Instead, widespread nationalization resulted in a second wave of confiscation. Restitution only began to take place after 1989. However, restitution laws have not been effectively applied, and to date only limited restitution has taken place in Romania. A 2013 restitution law was recognized by the European Court of Human Rights as providing, in theory, an accessible and effective framework for the restitution of nationalized or confiscated property. In the post-Communist period, Romania has enacted a number of laws relating to the restitution of communal property belonging to religious organizations and national minorities. These laws chiefly cover communal property taken during the Communist era. Romania endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Slovakia

2019 ◽  
pp. 401-414
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Nazi Germany ◽  
World War ◽  
Nazi Occupation ◽  
Velvet Revolution ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
Property Transfers ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Independent Country

During World War II, Slovakia (previously part of the independent country of Czechoslovakia) became a vassal state of Nazi Germany. Roughly 70,000 Jews were deported from Slovakia. Immediately after World War II, Czechoslovakia enacted legislation invalidating property transfers made during Nazi occupation. The measures were short-lived, however, because the country fell under Communist rule that resulted in a second wave of confiscations from all persons. It was not until after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 that new immovable property restitution laws were enacted for private and communal property. In 2002, Slovakia entered into an agreement with the Jewish community of Slovakia to accept a sum amounting to 10 percent of the estimated value of unrestituted Jewish heirless property, as payment for heirless property that had previously reverted to the state. Slovakia endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Norway

2019 ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
World War ◽  
Nazi Occupation ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
The Government

During World War II, Norway was occupied by Germany. Its collaborationist government and Nazi administration passed laws stripping Norwegian Jews of their property. Norway’s government-in-exile in London passed a decree during the war guaranteeing the restitution of private and communal property. After the war, all property—whether owned by Jews or non-Jews—was in theory subject to restitution. However, a 1997 report commissioned by the Norwegian government found that, in many instances, the complicated and lengthy restitution processes failed to fully restore to Norwegian Jews what had been confiscated during the Nazi occupation. In 1998, as a result of the report, the government approved a law on the historical and moral settlement for the treatment in Norway of the economic liquidation of the Jewish minority during World War II. The comprehensive compensation for the Jewish community covered all private, communal, and heirless property claims. Norway endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Spain

2019 ◽  
pp. 431-434
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
National Socialism ◽  
World War ◽  
Francisco Franco ◽  
Anti Jewish ◽  
Property Restitution

Spain is typically described as having been a neutral country during World War II. However, during the war, the Fascist ideology of Spain’s General Francisco Franco was closely aligned to that of the Nazis’ National Socialism. Unlike Hitler’s Germany, however, Franco’s Spain did not enact anti-Jewish policies or engage in the persecution of Jews. More than 25,000 Jews were able to escape Nazi-controlled Europe to Spain during the war. No immovable property—private, communal, or heirless—was taken from Jews or other targeted groups in Spain during the war. As a result, no immovable property restitution laws were required. Spain endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

Russia

2019 ◽  
pp. 379-384
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Bolshevik Revolution ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
Property Confiscation ◽  
Property Restitution

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, in violation of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The invasion marked the beginning of what Russia would later call the Great Patriotic War during which the Soviet Union suffered tens of millions of civilian and military losses. Private property in the Soviet Union was earlier confiscated through Lenin and Stalin’s nationalization programs. Nazi-occupied territories of the Soviet Union suffered property confiscation by the German forces, with most of the confiscation taking place in the Soviet Republics of Belarussia and Ukraine and western Russia. Russia does not have any private or communal property restitution and/or compensation laws relating to Holocaust-era confiscations, or return of property confiscations dating back to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Russia also does not have any special legislation dealing with heirless property. Russia endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009, but declined to endorse the 2010 Guidelines and Best Practices.

Cyprus

2019 ◽  
pp. 99-102
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bazyler ◽  
Kathryn Lee Boyd ◽  
Kristen L. Nelson ◽  
Rajika L. Shah
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Concentration Camps ◽  
World War ◽  
British Mandate ◽  
Detention Centers ◽  
Nazi Persecution ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Property Restitution

Cyprus was a British Crown colony during World War II. Cyprus was a haven to refugees escaping Nazi persecution during World War II, and after concentration camps in Europe were liberated, detention centers were set up on the island by the British in an effort to curtail survivors from entering British Mandate Palestine. No immovable property—private, communal, or heirless—was confiscated from Jews or other targeted groups in Cyprus during the war. As a result, no immovable property restitution laws were required. Cyprus endorsed the Terezin Declaration in 2009 and the Guidelines and Best Practices in 2010.

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