Survey of Restitution in Europe

The file contains surveys of restitution in west, east and neutral states of Europe. This chart, prepared by Dr. P Weis, legal secretary of the research department, World Jewish Congress, British Section, presents a comparative survey of the main features of restitution of Jewish property in the various countries of Europe according to the state legislation at the beginning of 1947. Each list is divided into 12 subcategories, for example like estimated Jewish prewar wealth, who can claim and what property is included. Furthermore which authorities decide on the claim, time limits for claims and possible compensation. In addition the 12 subcategories are connected to specific countries where different rules apply and different authorities are responsible. For example for Sweden and Switzerland no estimated Jewish prewar wealth is given, for Germany it is 500 Million pounds, Hungary 100 Million pounds and for Romania 250 Million pounds. In France the definition of who can claim is 'owner or legal successor' in the Netherlands 'any person violated in his right and legal successor'. Also the time limits, as well as other categories differ a lot between the countries.