Restitution of Immovable Property
Archive notice: This page is part of an independent archive of the former European Shoah Legacy Institute (ESLI), which was wound up in August 2017. The interactive map below shows the country reports of ESLI's Holocaust (Shoah) Immovable Property Restitution Study as they were published in 2017.
During the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, its allies and collaborators confiscated homes, businesses, land and communal property from Jews and other persecuted groups across Europe. Synagogues, schools, cemeteries and community buildings were seized as well. After 1945, and again after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, many states passed laws to return this property or to pay compensation. Their records vary widely. Some countries returned or compensated a large share of private and communal property. Others have done very little, especially for heirless property, whose owners and heirs were all murdered.
What the Terezin Declaration asked for
In the 2009 Terezin Declaration, 47 states urged that "every effort be made to rectify the consequences of wrongful property seizures, such as confiscations, forced sales and sales under duress." They preferred restitution of the property itself (in rem). Where that is not possible, they called for genuinely fair and adequate compensation or substitute property. They also suggested that heirless property could be used to support needy survivors and Holocaust education. In 2010, ESLI turned these principles into practical Guidelines and Best Practices for the Restitution and Compensation of Immovable (Real) Property, which 43 countries endorsed.
About the Immovable Property Restitution Study
From 2015, ESLI commissioned a team led by Professor Michael J. Bazyler to examine how each of the 47 Terezin Declaration countries had dealt with private, communal and heirless immovable property, measured against the Declaration and the 2010 Guidelines. The study was launched in April 2017 at the conference "Unfinished Justice: Restitution and Remembrance" at the European Parliament in Brussels. The conference was opened by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and ended with a declaration signed by more than 70 Members of the European Parliament. An expanded version of the study was published in 2019 by Oxford University Press as Searching for Justice After the Holocaust: Fulfilling the Terezin Declaration and Immovable Property Restitution.
How to use the map
Select a country on the map, or choose it from the alphabetical list below the map, to open its report. The overview and executive summary give the comparative findings. Each country report covers the historical background, the legal framework for private, communal and heirless property, and how far that country had progressed as of 2017. More background is in the Property issues section and the Immovable property section of the archive.
Developments since 2017
The country reports describe the situation in 2017, so readers should check for later changes. The US JUST Act of 2017 required the State Department to report on the Terezin Declaration countries, and its report was published in 2020. In August 2021, Poland amended its Code of Administrative Procedure, which has effectively blocked many claims based on challenges to post-war expropriation decisions. Earlier, in 2016, Serbia adopted a law on heirless and unclaimed Jewish property that ESLI had followed closely (see Passage of heirless property legislation in Serbia).
Frequently asked questions
What is heirless property?
It is property whose owners and their heirs were murdered in the Holocaust or cannot be found. The Terezin Declaration suggests it should benefit needy survivors and Holocaust education rather than revert to the state.
Can this archive help with an individual claim?
No. This is an archive, not a claims service. Individuals should contact the restitution authorities of the country concerned or organisations such as the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) or the Claims Conference.