Today, 11th May 2015, the European Shoah Legacy Institute participated in an international conference on Holocaust restitution in Belgrade, Serbia. This conference was organised by the State Restitution Agency of the Republic of Serbia, in partnership with the World Jewish Restitution Organisation (WJRO), the Federation of Jewish Communities of Serbia, and the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade. The objective of this conference was to discuss the necessity of, and advocate for, the passing of a law in Serbia on the restitution of property expropriated during the Second World War and to learn from international experiences in this field.
The European Shoah Legacy Institute supported this event by presenting a common statement in support of the proposed law by the Special Envoys on Holocaust Issues and Anti-Semitism (see attached). This statement was endorsed by six out of the eight Special Envoys.
During the conference, Ms. Rajika Shah presented a comparative study on national approaches to heirless property, whilst Ms. Kristen Nelson presented ESLI’s database on immovable property restituted or compensated across all forty-seven Terezin Declaration countries.
ESLI continues to support the efforts of the Republic of Serbia in addressing injustices resulting from Nazi persecution and reiterates its readiness to assist the Government with addressing the issue of Holocaust-era restitution in Serbia efficiently and effectively.
The Statement can be downloaded here.