Restitution
1. Albright, Madeleine K. Remarks at the opening of the Washington Conference
on Holocaust-Era Assets. Washington: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1998. 5
pp.
Note: Secretary of State Albright noted
that the conference efforts serve a twin purpose: first to forge a common approach
to the issues surrounding the Holocaust assets; and, secondly to advance Holocaust
education, remembrance and research.
Filed in Library at A21.
Online: http://secretary.state.gov/www/statements/1998/981201.html.
2. Auer, Leopold. The status of restitution since 1945: successes
and failures. Washington: International Council on Archives, 1995. 8 pp. (Presentation
at XXXIst International Conference of the Round Table on Archives, "War,
Archives, and the Comity of Nations, 1st working session, "Protection of
Records During War", Washington, September 6-9, 1995).
Note: The largest movement of archives was accomplished during
WWII for reasons of intelligence, politics, ideology, military strategy, as
well as the need to be used to prepare for the Nuremberg trials. Following the
war, the Allies returned archives to friendly countries: France, Belgium and
The Netherlands; records were returned to Italy and the Soviet Union at a later
time. German records were taken to England and the US, but restitution was mostly
accomplished between 1951 and 1968. Not returned were Baltic materials because
the Western powers did not recognize the Russian annexation of the Baltics;
in turn, the Soviets created a top secret Special Archive in Moscow with documents
from Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Romania. Auer called for unrestricted
access to displaced archives for the sake of scholarly research, in microform
copies if necessary.
Shelved in the Library at CD923.I55 1995.
3. Auer, Leopold. Disputed archival claims. Analysis of an international
survey: a RAMP study. CH-98\WS\9. Paris: UNESCO, 1998. 29 pp.
Note: Despite international recommendations, there has been
no agreement on guidelines for dealing with disputed archival claims and the
potential restitution of the archives. This analysis and evaluation is based
upon responses to a worldwide survey of existing international archival claims.
The conclusion suggests that an international committee similar to that of UNESCO
for the restitution of cultural property including the restitution of displaced
archives might be useful.
4. Balabkins, Nicholas. West German reparations to Israel. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1971. 384 pp.
5. Beker, Avi. Movements of Nazi Gold: uncovering the trail.
Policy studies no. 9. Jerusalem: World Jewish Congress, 1997. 28 pp.
Note: A moral confrontation is taking place in Europe as a
result of the campaign for the restitution of Jewish property during the Holocaust
and the end of the Cold War with the collapse of Communism. More than twenty
commissions have been named to investigate national behavior during the war
and to see how stolen Jewish property was dealt with after the war.
Summary filed in Library at B1.
Online: http://www.wjc.org.il/polstud9.htm.
6. Borchard, Edwin. "The treatment of enemy property". Georgetown Law Journal 34, no.1(May 1946): 389-406.
7. Boylan, Patrick J. Review of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention of 1954). Paris: UNESCO, 1993. 248 pp.
8. Bradsher, Greg. "Searching for documents on Nazi Gold".
The Record: News from the National Archives and Records Administration 3, no.5(May
1997): 5-6, 23-24.
Note: In 1944, the US initiated a "Safehaven Program",
involving a number of federal agencies, to identify and stop the movement of
Nazi assets out of Germany so that the Allies would be able to recover and repatriate
them. Records of these activities and those of reparation groups at the end
of the war make up a tremendous store of information relating to Holocaust assets
in the holdings of the National Archives at College Park. Recent interest in
these records has resulted in increased research activity at Archives II.
Filed in Library at B7.
9. Bradsher, Greg. "Searching for records relating to Nazi
Gold: Part II". The Record: News from the National Archives and Records
Administration 4, no.5(November 1997): 7-11, 46.
Note: Greg Bradsher's overview of Nazi Gold research activities
at NARA notes that the number of researchers looking at looted assets issues
has grown mightily since researchers from Senator D'Amato's office began working
at Archives II in early 1996. At the behest of President Clinton, an Interagency
Group on Nazi Assets, including NARA, issued its first report on Allied efforts
to restore assets stolen by Nazis during the war; the report included Bradsher's
300-page NARA finding aid to the records at Archives II.
10. British policy towards enemy property during and after the
Second World War. History Notes No. 13. London: Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
Historians in Library and Records Department, April 1998. 144 pp.
Note: This report concludes that the reunification of Germany
in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact changed the face
of Europe in a way that those responsible for administering enemy property policy
during and after the Second World War could never have anticipated. Great Britain's
recognition of the independence of the Baltic States in 1991 reopened the question
of British use of former Baltic Central Banks' gold reserves leading to the
transfer in 1992-1993 to each Baltic State gold equal to that deposited with
the Bank of England in 1940. Individual victims seeking property they had held
in the UK before the war can find in this report the policies and machinery
for the seizure and release of property.
11. Campiche, Christian. "Mediators seek a definitive settlement
of the Jewish funds affair". Journal de Gèneve et Gazette de Lausanne(November
19, 1996).
Note: Intermediaries are jostling to reach an agreement with
figures ranging from millions to billions of dollars.
Filed in Library at C2.
Online: http://www.geneva-international.org/GVA3/Forum/Dossier/Deal.E.html.
12. Campiche, Christian. "What goes through a Swiss banker's
mind when questioned about Jewish funds". Journal de Gèneve et Gazette
de Lausanne(November 19, 1996).
Note: The author gives an account of how the Swiss banking
establishment is handling the matter of orphaned Jewish funds.
Filed in Library at C8.
Online: http://www.geneva-international.org/GVA3/Forum/Dossier/Banquier.E.html.
13. Castelmur, Linus von. Schweizerisch-alliierte Finanzbeziehungen
im šbergang vom Zweiten Weltkrieg zum kalthen Krieg: Die deutschen Guthaben
in der Schweiz zwischen Zwangsliquidierung und Freigable (1945-1952)/Swiss-Allied
financial relations during the transition from World War II to the Cold War:
the German property in Switzerland in between compulsory liquidation and voluntary
release (1945-1952). Zurich: Chronos, 1992. 421 pp. (Revised version of author's
PhD from the University of Basel, 1991).
Note: The treatment of the German assets in Switzerland was
a central issue for the Swiss Foreign Ministry to resolve after the Second World
War. It was not only about important material interests, but also about the
position of Switzerland within the newly formed system of international relations.
From the Allied viewpoint, Switzerland had compromised itself by its cooperation
with the German National Socialism. Thus the Allies demanded exptradition of
the booty and all other German assets that had made their way to Switzerland.
The author reconstructs the negotiations from 1945 to 1952 showing how the Swiss
Foreign Ministry overcame its isolation within the world community.
14. "Compensation schemes for victims of persecution in
the Netherlands and the former colony of the Netherlands East Indies".
In Nazi gold: the London Conference, 2-4 December 1997, 367-370. London: HMSO,
1997.
Note: Compensation schemes for Dutch victims are explained
in this article. In 1973, the Victims of Persecution Benfit Act (Wuv), calling
for special attention to victims because of race, religin, sexual proclivity,
or philosphy, was added to earlier victim legislation. The Wuv guarantees an
income to victims of persecution with payments made worldwide to those who were
victims in the Netherlands or the Netherlands East Indies. Some of the Wuv funds
came in treaty payments from Germany and Japan.
Shelved in the NARA Library at HV6665.G3L66 1997.
15. "Concern for Dutch groups of war victims from the Second
World War". In Nazi gold: the London Conference, 2-4 December 1997, 369-370.
London: HMSO, 1997.
Note: The Dutch government has developed five categories of
Dutch victims of WWII, each category has the same basic underlying principle
of guaranteeing an income for victims who become disabled through the war.
Shelved in the NARA Library at HV6665.G3L66 1997.
16. Congress. House. Committee on Banking and Financial Services.
Disposition of assets deposited in Swiss banks by missing Nazi victims. Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1997. iv, 549 pp. (104th Cong. 2nd sess., Committee
Serial No. 104-76, December 11, 1996).
Note: Hearing to consider claims that WWII victim assets are
still in Swiss banks in unnumbered accounts opened by Jews lost in the Holocaust
as well as Nazi accounts opened to hold funds seized from Jew. The Committee
investigation on problems of locating these assets heard from Senator Alfonse
D'Amato on the handling of unclaimed assets and other witnesses including: Stuart
E. Eizenstat, Thomas Borer, Edgar Bronfman, Paul Volcker, Georg Krayer, Rolf
Bloch, Arthur Smith, Jacques Picard, James H. Hutson, Veronica B. Katz and Alice
B. Fischer.
17. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Authorization to Secretary of the Army to return certain works of art to the Federal Republic of Germany. Washington: GPO, 1981. 5 pp. (97th Cong. 1st sess., H.Rpt.97-298).
18. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs. Swiss banks and the status of assets of Holocaust survivors or heirs.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1996. iii, 73 pp. (104th Cong. 2nd sess.,
S. Hrg. 104-582, April 23, 1996).
Note: Hearing on the circumstances surrounding the deposit
of assets into Swiss banks by European Jews and others, the methodology utilized
by the financial institutions in recording and maintaining these accounts and
the response by Swiss banks to claims and inquiries made by Holocaust survivors
or heirs regarding these accounts. Witnesses included Edgar m. Bronfman, Greta
Beer, Hans J. Baer and Stuart E. Eizenstat.
19. Cotti, Flavio. Establishment and administration of a humanitarian
fund for survivors of the Nazi persecution, February 12, 1997. London: Embassy
of Switzerland, February 12, 1997. 2 pp.
Note: Federal Councillor Cotti made a statement on February
12, 1997 confirming the willingess of the Federal council to establish and administer
a fund in order to suport humanitarian projects such as assistance to survivors
of the Nazi persecution and their descendants in need.
Filed in the Library at C10.
Online: http://www.swissembassy.org.uk/news/cottista.htm#Councillor.
20. Danow, Mitchell. "Holocaust survivors in Latvia to
get first Swiss fund checks". JTA: Jewish Telegraphic Agency(November 11,
1997).
Note: Some 80 Latvian survivors receive checks from the Holocaust
Memorial Fund created in February.
Online: http://www.virtual.co.il/news/jta/nov97/11-swis.htm.
21. Decker, Andrew. ""My argument was not with the
German people"". ARTnews(September 1992): 36 - 37.
Note: This article focuses on the WWII looting of sheepskin
documents dating from the 15th and 16th centuries from a German parish house
and recording legal transactions. These parchments have been returned to Germany
by an American serviceman's widow, a concentration camp victim, who found the
documents among her husband's belongings.
Filed in Library at D12.
22. Dertilis, G. B. "Results of the steps taken to compensate
the country and individual victims". In Nazi gold: the London Conference,
2-4 December 1997, 300-301. London: HMSO, 1997.
Note: Approximately 80% of the gold claimed by Greece after
WWII was restituted; the rest represented looted private holdings with incomplete
claims. The author notes other claims that have not been met including silver,
an imposed loan to Nazi Germany.
Shelved in the NARA Library at HV6665.G3L66 1997.
23. Dornberg, John. "Munich: "A statement of atonement"".
ARTnews(October 1992): 67-68.
Note: Munich's three-year-old Jewish Museum is the creation
of Richard Grimm, an art dealer who wanted to make a statement of atonement
and reconciliation for his hometown.
Filed in Library at D4.
24. Eichwede, Wolfgang. "Models of restitution (Germany,
Russia, Ukraine)". In The spoils of war - World War II and its aftermath:
the loss, reappearance, and recovery of cultural property, 216-220. New York:
Harry N. Abrams, 1997. (Paper presented at international symposium, The Spoils
of War, sponsored by Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts,
New York, January, 1995).
Note: The author suggests developing models of solution showing
appreciation for all cultures and demonstrating the advantages of cooperation
in restitution efforts.
25. Eizenstat, Stuart E. Opening remarks delivered to the Washington
Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, November 30, 1998. Washington: U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum, 1998. 3 pp.
Note: Eisenstat, co-Chairman of the Washington Conference on
Holocaust-Era Assets, called for the international participants to work on the
final chapter in the unfinished business of the Holocaust through the following
efforts: undertaking a moral accounting, completing the historical record, providing
restitution, educating future generations, righting the wrongs of the past,
and seeking justice for the living and the dead.
Filed in Library at E11.
26. Eizenstat, Stuart E. Opening statement to the Washington
Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, December 1, 1998. Washington: U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum, 1998. 7 pp.
Note: Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat reviewed the current efforts
to resolve the issues of Nazi-confiscated assets and called for an acceleration
of the momentum in order to complete the tasks by the end of the century.
Filed in Library at E12.
27. Fiedler, Wilfried. "Legal issues bearing on the restitution
of German cultural property in Russia". In The spoils of war - World War
II and its aftermath: the loss, reappearance, and recovery of cultural property,
175-177. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. (Paper presented at international
symposium, The Spoils of War, sponsored by Bard Graduate Center for Studies
in the Decorative Arts, New York, January, 1995).
Note: Professor Fiedler is known for his legal knowledge in
the fields of cultural property and state secession. He notes the legal basis
for the German request for restitution is based on treaty regulations made after
the opening of Eastern Europe in 1989 and explains the difficulties arising
from different interpretations of those documents.
28. Fodor, Istv n. "The restitution of works of art
in Hungary". In The spoils of war - World War II and its aftermath: the
loss, reappearance, and recovery of cultural property, 92-94. New York: Harry
N. Abrams, 1997. (Paper presented at international symposium, The Spoils of
War, sponsored by Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New
York, January, 1995).
Note: Hungary's cultural treasures suffered from the Nazis,
the Hungarian Facists, and the Soviet Army. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union secretly
returned some paintings. In 1992 a commission was set up whose task was to plan
the return of works taken from Hungary and held in Russia. A 40,000-item database
of lost art has been set up in Budapest where the first meeting of a joint Hungarian-Russian
restitution working group met in 1994.
29. Fodor, Istv n. "The restitution of works of art
in Hungary". In Cultural treasures moved because of the war: a cultural
legacy of the Second World war: documentation and research on losses, 79-84.
Bremen: Koordinierungsstelle der Länder, 1995. (Documentation of the International
Meeting in Bremen, November 30 to December 2, 1994).
Note: This article focuses on Hungary's losses of artworks
during and after WWII, and on the work of the Committee for the Restitution
of Cultural Property which was set up on May 19, 1993.
30. "French Jews to get new chance to claim wartime seizure
of assets". Agence France-Presse(February 2, 1999).
Note: A French government committee, the Matteoli Committee,
which has been working for two years on drawing up a full inventory of seized
Jewish assets during the Nazi occupation, handed in a second working report
to the Prime Minister calling for a new authority to allow Jews to claim compensation.
Filed in National Archives Library at F5.
31. Ganslmayr, H. "Study on the principles, conditions and means for the restitution or return of cultural property in view of reconstituting dispersed heritages". Museum 31, no.1(1979).
32. "German restitution for National Socialist crimes".
In Nazi gold: the London Conference, 2-4 December 1997, 286-292. London: HMSO,
1997.
Note: This paper describes the efforts the Federal Republic
of Germany has made to compensate Nazi victims. The very first efforts were
restricted to property, not to personal damage but, in 1952, the Luxembourg
Agreement between Germany and Israel recognized that Israel bore the tremendous
financial burden of providing for many Nazi victims and provided for German
aid in resettling Jews in Israel. Over the years the number of persons eligible
for compensation increased; after the fall of the Communist bloc, those victims
could submit applications for restitution.
Shelved in the NARA Library at HV6665.G3L66 1997.
33. Giles, Robert S. Archival and library restitution in the United States Zone of Germany: a preliminary study. Washington: American School of Social Sciences, 1947.
34. Hall, Ardelia R. "The U.S. program for return of historic
objects to countries of origin, 1944-1954". Department of State Bulletin
31, no.797(October 4, 1954): 493-498.
Note: In 1954, the Department of State returned WWII displaced
cultural treasures to foreign embassies in Washington to be restored to their
rightful owners. Most of the objects had entered the US through art-trade channels.
35. Henry, Marilyn. The restitution of Jewish property in Central
and Eastern Europe. New York: American Jewish Committee, 1997. v, 54 pp.
Note: The biggest threat to the recovery of Jewish property
is the question about who are the real heirs of communities destroyed in the
Holocaust and who should negotiate for restitution and how to use the proceeds.
Jewish property consisting of public or communal proprerty, private property
with recognized heirs, and abandoned private properties, need to be claimed
to rectify past injustices and to assist needy Jews.
Shelved in the National Archives Library at D819.C36H46 1997.
36. Hochfield, Sylvia. "The Russians renege". ARTnews
93, no.6(Summer 1994): 68+.
Note: At recent restitution meetings, Russians noted that in
talks before the end of the war, the Soviet had told Western Allies of their
plans to take compensation in the form of German property as compensation for
their immense losses; as a result, loot removed by official trophy brigades
was legal. The Germans expressed pessimism about the restitution talks.
Filed in Library at H18.
37. Hochfield, Sylvia. "Do the right thing". ARTnews
97, no.2(February 1998): 66.
Note: The art world has recently taken steps to face the challenges
of restitution: the new Commission for Art Recovery aims to recover art taken
from Jewish victims for heirs or for Jewish charity; the Holocaust Art Restitution
Project aims to act as a clearinghouse for stolen art information; and the International
Research Center for the Documentation of Wartime Losses is being organized to
gather and disseminate information relating to culture displace in times of
war.
Filed in Library at H10.
38. Hochfield, Sylvia. "The Russian surprise". ARTnews(January
1999): 56, 58.
Note: At the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets
in December 1998, plans were announced for a mega website as a central registry
of art looted by the Nazis for access by claimants and collectors. Russian delegate
Kulishov shocked the conference participants when he invited victims or heirs
to claim their looted art treasures in Russia, because the Russian parliament
adopted a bill nationalizing most of the cultural property captured by the Red
Army trophy brigades after WWII exempting only church property, non-Nazi public
property, family heirlooms of non-Nazis, and the property of Nazi enemies and
victims. This article raises concerns about what is a Nazi victim and describes
the complexity of making claims against Russia.
Filed in Library at H19.
39. Hochfield, Sylvia. "Wrestling with restitution".
ARTnews(Summer 1998): 59.
Note: When the Baroness Rothschild returned to Austria to claim
family property, the government demanded a share of the artworks under the Export
Prohibition Law. In order to export the collections, she was forced to "donate"
230 objects to Austrian museums. The Austrian culture minister has announced
that Austria will return these assets to their rightful owners upon inventory;
the Rothschild collections will be the first case to be dealt with because of
the clear proof of possession.
Filed in Library at H17.
40. Hochfield, Sylvia. "Back to the drawing room".
ARTnews(December 1998): 61.
Note: Nine 19th-century Dresden drawings in the custody of
Russians now living in New York City have been returned to the Dresden Gallery
where they join the bulk of the collection returned by the Russians in the 1950s.
About 1500 prints and drawings remain missing.
Filed in Library at H24.
41. Hockstader, Lee. "Vast Holocaust database planned:
'list of lists' would track European Jewry through WWII". Washington Post(December
1, 1998): A1, A18.
Note: Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust institute, will present
a victim-tracking database at the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets.
It is expected that the list will provide information for parties staking claims
to Holocaust assets.
Filed in Library at H40.
42. Honan, William H. "Ely Maurer, who repatriated art
looted by Nazis, dies at 84". New York Times(June 29, 1997): 29.
Note: Maurer served as a State Department legal advisor on
the repatriation of cultural treasures after WWII, determining the rightful
owners of looted art. He was called in as an expert by lawyers involved with
the Quedlinburg case involving medieval treasures taken from a cave by an American
soldier at the end of WWII.
43. Hug, Peter and Marc Perrenoud. Assets of Nazi victims in
Switzerland and the compensation agreements with the Eastern bloc. Bern: Swiss
Foreign Affairs Department, 1997. 142 pp.
Note: In the Fall of 1996, the Swiss government's Task Force
for the Assets of Nazi Victims asked the authors to report from the historical
point of view, and using only the holdings of the Swiss Federal Archives, on
questions about the Holocaust, victim assets, and compensation agreements with
Eastern European states. The report was intended to suggest approaches to identifying
beneficiaries with rights to unclaimed victim assets.
Filed in library at H4.
Online: http://www.switzerland.taskforce.ch/W/W3/W3a/a1_ei.htm.
44. International directory of organizations in Holocaust education,
remembrance, and research: a project of the Task Force for International Cooperation
on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research. Washington: United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1998. 132 pp.
Note: The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust
Education, Remembrance, and Research was established in Stockholm, Sweden, in
May 1998 to disseminate knowledge about the Holocaust and its commemoration
and research. This directory offers basic information on institutions throughout
the world concerned with Holocaust education.
45. Kagan, Saul and Ernest H. Weisman. Report on the operations of the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, 1947-1975. New York: Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, [1972].
46. Kline, Thomas R. "Recovering wartime losses and other
stolen art and cultural property found in the United States". Spoils of
War no. 3(December 1996): 6-9.
Note: Kline's article offers advice on how theft victims should
go about recovering located cultural property found in the United States.
Journal is kept in the National Archives Library.
Online: http://www.dhh-3.de/biblio/bremen/sow3.
47. Kolasa, Ingo. "A splendid gesture: chronology of a
restitution. Part I". Spoils of War no. 3(December 1996): 53-57.
Note: After WWII, the Red Army looted books from The German
Library which ended up in the Georgian Republic. In 1995, Georgia invited Germany
to send experts to survey the collection, expressing an interest in repatriating
the collection. The Germans found that the collection of 100,000 books came
from libraries all over Germany and included some real treasures.
Filed in the Library at A2.
Online: http://www.dhh-3.de/biblio/bremen/sow3.
48. Korkmazova, Evgenia. "Review of the 1997 Russian press
on the issue of the restitution of cultural values. Part II.". Spoils of
War no. 5(June 1998): 41-43.
Note: This review of the Russian press draws on the "Restitution
File" maintained by Bibliographer Korkmazova.
Among National Archives Library's periodical holdings.
Online: http://www.beutekunst.de/.
49. Kurtz, Michael J. American cultural restitution policy in
Germany during the occupation, 1945-1949. Washington: Georgetown University,
1982. iv, 224 pp. (PhD Dissertation, Georgetown University, 1982).
Note: The author provides a valuable insight into the Western
program for cultural restitutions at the end of the war, with emphasis on American
policies and Soviet lack of cooperation.
Shelved in library at D821.G4K87.
50. Kurtz, Michael J. Nazi contraband: American policy on the
return of European cultural treasures, 1945-1955. New York: Garland, 1985. v,
309 pp.
Note: The only study known on the topic of policy and WWII
cultural restitution, this book presents in detail the American approach to
cultural restitution as based on: its propaganda value as an Allied effort to
preserve cultural treasures; the Anglo-Saxon concepts of justice calling for
the return of stolen property; and, the pressure placed on the government by
Americans in the arts and archives spheres with an interest in cultural preservation
and restitution. His descriptions of the looted art recovery process offer a
clear picture of the Nazi efforts to protect their looted art and gold in castles,
bunkers and mines.
Shelved in library at D818.K8.
51. Kurtz, Michael J. "The end of the war and the occupation
of Germany, 1944-52. Laws and conventions enacted to counter German appropriations:
the Allied Control Council". In The spoils of war - World War II and its
aftermath: the loss, reappearance, and recovery of cultural property, 112-116.
New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. (Paper presented at international symposium,
The Spoils of War, sponsored by Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative
Arts, New York, January, 1995).
Note: Noting that the three major Allies during WWII agreed
on only a few basic matters involving postwar Germany: the surrender document
itself, boundaries for future occupation zones, and a structure for the future
military government which included an Allied Control Council (ACC), the author
focuses on the Allied response to Nazi looting as expressed in ACC endeavors
during its first year of existence when it appeared that there was some chance
to develop a unified policy for restitution.
52. Latvian Position Paper for the Conference on Holocaust-Era
Assets. Washington: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1998. 7 pp.
Note: This position paper traces the issues associated with
the terrible legacy of the Holocaust in Latvia.
Filed in Library at L21.
53. Leach, James A., Chair, House Banking and Financial Services
Committee. Statement to the International Leadership Conference, American Jewish
Committee. Washington: House of Representatives, May 16, 1998. 5 pp. (Press
release).
Note: Committee Chair James A. Leach speaks of his Holocaust
Victims Redress Act which passed House and Senate unanimously and was signed
into law by the President in March. The Law authorizes a U.S. contribution of
$25 million for Holocaust survivors and $5 million for archival research to
assist in the restitution of looted assets. The Law also puts Congress on record
in support of dedicating to Holocaust victims the remaining assets under the
control of the Tripartite Gold Commission.
Filed in Library at L10.
54. Leach, James A., Chair, House Banking and Financial Services
Committee. Leach introduces bill to aid Holocaust victims. Washington: House
of Representatives, October 1, 1997. 5 pp. (Press release).
Filed in Library at L11.
55. Lehmann, Klaus-Dieter. "A new proposal for negotiations
by the German-Russian Expert Group concerning the repatriation of the spoils
of war". Spoils of War no. 3(December 1996): 12.
Note: The German-Russian Committee of Experts of Libraries
concerned with the repatriation of cultural property was established in 1993
as part of the Government Commission on Restitution. In 1996, the group proposed
a gradual procedure for the return of library collections, shortly before the
repatriation of 100,000 books from Georgia to Germany.
Journal is kept in the National Archives Library.
Online: http://www.dhh-3.de/biblio/bremen/sow3.
56. Lehmann, Klaus-Dieter. Die Trophäenkommissionen der
Roten Arme: Eine Dokumentansammlung zur Verschleppung von Büchern aus Deutschen
Bibliotheken. Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klosterman, 1996. 251 pp.
Note: The 1992 meeting to discuss library restitution between
Germany and Russia was a hopeful meeting. Now the German librarians claim that
Russian librarians, faced with difficult conditions, have sealed off their collections
from both Russian and foreign users. This volume contains German translations
of Soviet documents related to the transportation of German books.
Review filed at L7.
57. Lehmann, Klaus-Dieter and Ingo Kolasa, eds. "Restitution
von Bibliotheksgut: Runder Tisch deutscher und russicher Bibliothekare in Moskau
am 11, und 12. Dezember 1992]". Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und
Bibliographie(1993). (1992 meeting between German and Russian librarians on
the topic of book collection restitution was published as a special issue).
Note: In 1992, German and Russian librarians met in Moscow
to discuss the restoration of volumes looted from Soviet libraries by Germans
and from German libraries by Soviets between 1941 and 1947. There was a general
spirit of reconciliation and hope at the meeting calling for unrestricted access
to Germans of the transported books in Russian libraries with return to Germany
to follow soon.
58. Levin, Itamar. The last chapter of the Holocaust? The struggle
over the restitution of Jewish property in Europe. Revised ed. Jewish Agency
for Israel and the World Jewish Restitution Organization, 1998. 208 pp.
Note: Levin, Journalist and Deputy Editor of the "Globes",
Israel's business newspaper, has been reporting for several years on the property
looting that took place during WWII. This book is about the struggle for the
restoration of Jewish property in Europe; the second edition reports on the
significant developments that have occurred during the past year including:
the Swiss banking settlements, acknowledgment of the property seized by the
Custodian of Enemy Property in the UK, and progress in Norway and France on
the issue. Art and insurance are now being looked at more closely. Levin's chapters
cover different topics and different countries - all related to restitution.
59. Levine, Itamar. The fate of stolen Jewish properties: the
cases of Austria and the Netherlands, 30 pp. Policy studies no. 8. Jerusalem:
World Jewish Congress, 1997. 30 pp.
Note: After WWII, Austria evaded restitution payments to the
Jews claiming victim status as a country; this meant that anyone who profited
from the theft of Jewish property retains their gains. The Netherlands also
defined the state as the heir to assets left behind by Jewish victims. The author
addresses these unresolved questions in this policy study.
Summary filed in library at L2.
Online: http://www.wjc.org.il/polstud8.htm.
60. List of unclaimed bank accounts at Swedish banks. Stockholm:
Commission on Jewish Assets in Sweden at the time of the Second World War, 1997.
12 pp.
Note: This list of unclaimed bank accounts at Swedish banks
contains the names of depositors with foreign address who held bank accounts
in 1945 and who have not been heard from since.
Filed in Library at S16.
61. Loewy, Erich H. "Making good again: historical and
ethical questions". In Paying for the past: the struggle over reparations
for surviving victims of the Nazi terror, 185-194. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1998.
Note: Loewy, a professor of Bioethics, asserts that restitution
or rectification needs to be worldwide issue if healing is to take place.
62. "Looting and restitution: a brief history of the theft
of property from Dutch Jews during the Second World War and its post-war restitution".
In Nazi gold: the London Conference, 2-4 December 1997, 360-366. London: HMSO,
1997. (Conference paper of the Van Kemenade Committee).
Note: This history details the relevant ordinances and orders
issued by the German occupying forces to give the theft of property of Dutch
Jews, referred to as "surrender", the semblance of legality. Jewish
businesses, land, houses, insurance policies, and mortgage loans were expropriated
by means of ordinances and sold to German and Dutch people. Efforts to restore
property are also detailed.
Shelved in the NARA Library at HV6665.G3L66 1997.
63. Marks, John. "Switzerland settled; now it's France's turn". U.S. News & World Report 123(December 7, 1998): 38.
64. Maurer, Ely. "The role of the State Department regarding
national and private claims for the restitution of stolen cultural property".
In The spoils of war - World War II and its aftermath: the loss, reappearance,
and recovery of cultural property, 142-144. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997.
(Paper presented at international symposium, The Spoils of War, sponsored by
Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New York, January,
1995).
Note: Maurer describes the role of the State Department in
the postwar recovery of looted cultural property that was looted in Europe and
ended up in the United States. The State Department, without legal power, has
tried to persuade disputed art owners and conciliate disputes, before suggesting
the application of legal powers by other agencies including the Justice Department,
the Defense Department, and the Internal Revenue Service.
65. McLarin, Kimberly. "Holocaust survivor will share $2.1
million in reparations". New York Times(September 20, 1995): B5.
Note: Hugo Princz and 10 other Holocaust survivors settled
for $2.1 million with Germany for their WWII suffering in Nazi concentration
camps.
66. Mikva, Abner. Opening remarks delivered to the Washington
Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets. Washington: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum,
1998. 2 pp.
Note: Mikva, co-Chairman of the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era
Assets, called for contributions to the historical record of the Holocaust in
this introduction to the speaker, Elie Wiesel.
Filed in Library at M30.
67. Opper, Dieter, Jost Hansen and Doris Lemmermeier, eds. Cultural
treasures moved because of the war: a cultural legacy of the Second World war:
documentation and research on losses. Bremen: Koordinierungsstelle der Länder,
1995. 189 pp. (Documentation of the International Meeting in Bremen, November
30 to December 2, 1994).
Note: The German Coordination of the States for the Return
of Cultural Treasures organized this international meeting to exchange information
on the cultural spoils of WWII.
Shelved in the National Archives Library at.
68. Pauley, Bruce F. "Restitution and recovery: Anti-Semitism
after the Holocaust". In From prejudice to persecution: a history of Austrian
antisemitism, 301-317. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992.
Note: Restitution in Austria has been difficult for several
reasons. For one things, Austrians were not eager to compensate Austrian Jews
for their WWII losses. Secondly, the Austrian government has refused to consider
itself a successor to the Third Reich, insisting that Austria was an occupied
country between 1938 and 1945. Amnesty and restoration of property to former
Austrian Nazis preceded victim compensation.
69. Pease, Louis E. After the Holocaust: West Germany and material
reparations to the Jews - from the Allied Occupation to the Luxembourg Agreements.
Tallahassee: Florida State University, 1976. 2 vols. (PhD Dissertation, Florida
State University, 1976).
Note: Detailed study of Jewish restitution and reparations
issues.
70. Phillips, Geraldine N. Duplication before restitution: costs
and benefits: the US experience. Washington: International Council on Archives,
1995. 11 pp. (Presentation at XXXIst International Conference of the Round Table
on Archives, "War, Archives, and the Comity of Nations, 1st working session,
"Protection of Records During War", Washington, September 6-9. 1995).
Note: The U.S. has microfilmed records of foreign governments
that have come into its custody to provide access to information needed by scholars
and to show that the holdings were once in US custody. This presentation covers
the microfilming of records restituted to Germany, Grenada, Poland and the Soviet
Union.
Conference proceedings are shelved in the National Archives Library at CD923.I55 1995.
71. Pollock, James K. "Reparations and level of industry".
Germany under occupation: illustrative materials and documents, 48-73. Revised
ed. Ann Arbor: George Wahr Publishing, 1949.
Note: Designed to eliminate Germany's war potential and to
disarm Germany industrially, the levels set by the 1946 Plan for Reparations
were a matter of contention between the USSR and the other powers.
72. Post-war foreign policy preparation, 1939-1945. General
Foreign Policy Series 15. Washington: State Department, 1949.
Note: This publication traces the development of American cultural
restitution policy within the interdepartmental framework.
73. Pross, Christian. Paying for the past: the struggle over
reparations for surviving victims of the Nazi terror. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1998. xxii, 265 pp.
Note: The author's clarification of the complicated history
of West German reparations exposes the opposition of the people and within the
government, toward reparations and the Holocaust victims seeking restitution.
Although the American occupation forces passed Law Number 59, Restitution of
Property Stolen in the Course of the "Aryanization of the Economy",
in 1947, and West Germany passed a Federal Restitution Law in 1957, the author
shows the postwar hostility of the Germans toward reparations legislation and
the victims seeking restitution.
Shelved in the Library at DS135.G332P7613 1998.
74. Prott, Lyndel V. "Principles for the resolution of
disputes concerning cultural heritage displaced during the Second World War".
In The spoils of war - World War II and its aftermath: the loss, reappearance,
and recovery of cultural property, 221-224. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997.
(Paper presented at international symposium, The Spoils of War, sponsored by
Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New York, January,
1995).
Note: Prott, a UNESCO official, suggests means of circumventing
the current restitution impasse while drawing on the substantial body of existing
legal principles. She concludes with her view that if the problem is not resolved
in the next few years, it will remain a constant source of friction.
75. Prott, Lyndel V. and Jan Hladik. "The role of UNESCO
'Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property'
in the resolution of disputes concerning cultural property removed in consequence
of the Second World War". Spoils of War no. 4(August 1977): 59-61. (Among
National Archives Library's periodical holdings).
Note: The intergovernmental committee was set up in 1978 to
handle claims by recently decolonized states for the return of cultural property
lost to colonial countries. The committee has not been used to settle conflict-linked
removed cultural property, but the authors note that it would have jurisdiction
under Article 4 of its Statutes. The committee would offer mediation in a neutral
forum.
76. "Reparation and restitution". In Germany, 1947-1949:
the story in documents, 371-440. State Department Publication 3556. Washington:
GPO, State Department, 1950.
Note: Documents relate to conflicting claims to German enemy
assets, restitution of monetary gold and identifiable property, and industrial
reparation.
Shelved in National Archives Library at S1.74:9.
77. Restitution of Jewish property in Central and East Europe:
the U.S. Congress strongly endorses Jewish efforts to retrieve the legacy of
Central and East European Jewry. Policy Dispatch No. 8. Jerusalem: World Jewish
Congress, April 1995. 4-page report
Note: In Eastern Europe, most Jewish properties taken during
WWII were not restituted between the liberation from the Nazis and the imposition
of Communist rule; moreover, foreign citizens not living in the country were
ruled to be ineligible to retrieve property, and only religious communties existing
continually since WWII received restitution. This pattern of penalizing Jews
is now being opposed.
Filed in Library at W8.
78. Robinson, Nehemiah. "Restitution of Jewish property". Congress Weekly 10(March 12, 1948): 11-12.
79. Robinson, Nehemiah. Indemnification and reparations: Jewish
aspects. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs, 1944. 302 pp.
Note: In 1944, Robinson developed a matrix of Jewish wealth,
occupational patterns, currency values, population figures and land distribution
throughout Europe, whereby he demonstrated that $8 billion dollars in Jewish
wealth and property was spoiled, destroyed, and lost during the Nazi terror.
80. Robinson, Nehemiah. Indemnification and reparations: second supplement covers the crucial year 1945. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs, 1946. ix, 181 leaves.
81. Robinson, Nehemiah. Indemnification and reparations: third supplement. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs, 1946. 23 leaves typescript.
82. Robinson, Nehemiah. Indemnification and reparations: fourth supplement: the working and the results of the German reparation. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs, 1946. 43 leaves typescript.
83. Rosenberg, Tina. "Nazi entanglements". New York
Times(March 3, 1997 Editorial Notebook).
Note: Rosenberg notes that few countries deal honestly with
their guilt about WWII actions. The US failure to save Jews, the French collaboration
with the Nazis, the Swiss fiancial involvement are all neglected; in fact West
Germany has treated its guilt the most seriously.
Filed in the Library at R2.
84. Roth, Cecil. "The restoration of Jewish libraries, archives and museums". Contemporary Jewish Record 8(June 1944): 253-257.
85. Rubin, Seymour J. and Abba P. Schwartz. "Refugees and reparations". Law and Contemporary Problems(Summer 1951): 387+.
86. Schwerin, Kurt. "German compensation for victims of Nazi persecution". Northwestern University Law Review 67(September-October 1972): 485-494.
87. Sieradzka, Krystna. Jewish restitution and compensation
claims in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. New York: Institute of Jewish
Affairs, 1993. 70 pp.
Note: This report expresses concern that some municipalities
have returned synogogues to Jewish communities with the provision that there
would be restrictions on the use.
88. Somerville, Sean. "Suing for reparations". Baltimore
Sun(January 17, 1999): 1D, 4D.
Note: The success of lawsuits against Swiss banks has given
new impetus to war-crimes class action suits. Along with the success of litigation,
the flow of government records from archives making public tens of thousands
of documents classified from WWII through the Cold War is working to make courts
a popular political forum for groups with grievances.
89. Thornes, Robin. "Protecting cultural objects through
documentation standards". Spoils of War no. 2(July 1996): 38-41.
Note: To encourage recovery, cultural objects need to be photographed
and adequately described. Ms. Thorne describes the Getty Institute's collaborative
project on international documentation standards. Core information regarded
as essential by museums, insurance companies, art dealers, and law-enforcement
agencies have been identified for inclusion.
Among National Archives Library's periodical holdings.
90. Vagt, Detlev F. "Restitution for historic wrongs. The American courts and international law". American Journal of International Law 92, no.2(April 1998).
91. Volcker, Paul A. "Letter to The Honorable Edward Korman,
dated October 29, 1997". In Report to the Treasurer of New York State and
the Comptroller of New York City, 11-page Section 2B. n.p.: Credit Suisse Group,
Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland, December 1, 1997.
Note: Letter to Judge Korman from Paul A. Volcker, Chairman
of the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP), concerning the proceedings
in the Holocaust Victims Assets Case discussed on July 31, 1997. In the letter,
Volcker gives a report on the work of ICEP relating the role of the ICEP in
resolving the issue of dormant accounts in Swiss banks as part of a wider effort
to resolve facts about the Holocaust and to seek justice for its victims.
92. Weinbaum, Laurence. Righting a historic wrong: restitution
of Jewish property in Central and East Europe. 3d ed. Policy studies no. 1.
Jerusalem: World Jewish Congress, 1995. 41 pp.
Note: Most Jewish properties looted by the Nazis were later
seized by the Communists before they could be claimed by their rightful owners.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and its hold over Central and East Europe has
given Jews a new opportunity to reclaim lost property. In 1992 the World Jewish
Restitution Organization (WJRO) was formed to negotiate Jewish communal claims.
The WJRO has found a disturbing pattern of national laws restricting the rights
of Jews to reclaim their property.
Summary filed in library at W3.
Online: http://www.wjc.org.il/polstud1.htm.
93. Wilson, David. "Return and restitution: a museum perspective".
In Who owns the past?, 99-106. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985. (Paper
presented at the annual symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanites).
Note: This call for support for the great universal museums
of the world against claims for the return of cultural property.
94. Wise, Michael Z. "Reparations". Atlantic Monthly
272, no.4(October 1993): 32-35.
Note: The author reports on the work of the Conference on Jewish
Material Claims Against Germany, an organization that presses the leaders of
unified Germany to provide monetary compensation to the victims of their predecessors.
Filed in Library at W2.
Online: http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/nazigold/wise.htm.
95. Zaldumbide, Rodrigo Pallares. "Return and restitution of cultural property: cases for restitution". Museum 34, no.2(1982).