WASHINGTON, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — President Trump signed The Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act into law yesterday affirming the White House’s support for U.S. monitoring of progress in European countries to fulfill their pledges of restitution to Holocaust survivors.
The new law was welcomed by the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO), a nonprofit organization that works toward the restitution of private property and Jewish communal property seized during the Holocaust in Europe and led advocacy efforts for the JUST Act.
“This is a powerful statement of America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Holocaust survivors in their quest for justice,” said Gideon Taylor, WJRO Chair of Operations. “We thank President Trump for supporting the bill, as well as the U.S. Congress for passing it unanimously.”
The JUST Act was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and in the House of Representatives by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.). The law requires the State Department to investigate and submit a report to Congress on the extent to which endorsees of the 2009 Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets and Related Issues are meeting their pledges to adopt national laws and policies to help Holocaust survivors identify and reclaim their properties.
In 2009, 47 countries endorsed the Terezin Declaration, which recognizes “the importance of restituting or compensating Holocaust-related confiscations made during the Holocaust era.” It also states “the importance of recovering communal and religious immovable property in reviving and enhancing Jewish life, ensuring its future, assisting the welfare needs of Holocaust (Shoah) survivors, and fostering the preservation of Jewish cultural heritage.”
“My family had property – a house, land and a lumber business – that was taken from us and for which we were never granted restitution or justice. I have memories of a wonderful childhood, which the Nazis and their collaborators shattered during World War II,” said Irene Weiss, an Auschwitz survivor from the former Czechoslovakia now living in Virginia. “This new law helps Holocaust survivors achieve a small measure of justice for our material loss.”
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WJRO works toward the restitution of private property and Jewish communal property seized during the Holocaust in Europe, except for Austria and Germany. Together with local Jewish communities, WJRO negotiates with governments to obtain legislation concerning restitution.
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SOURCE World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO)
