What We Do
The European Shoah Legacy Institute monitors progress on and advocates for the provisions of the Terezin Declaration.
Signed on June 30, 2009, in Terezin in the Czech Republic by representatives of 47 states, the Terezin Declaration is a historic document for the resolution of post-Holocaust issues. In addition to several non-legally binding provisions for addressing the legacy of the Holocaust (or Shoah), the Declaration recognizes that there still remain “substantial issues to be addressed” in several key areas of concern: the dignity and welfare of Holocaust survivors, the state of immovable property, the restoration of rightful ownership for looted art, stolen Judaica and Jewish cultural property, the establishment of the provenance of Nazi-era looted objects, and Holocaust remembrance.
More information about our current projects.
Our Vision
We envision a world in which governments fulfill their promises to Holocaust survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution so that justice is served and injustice is remembered. Towards this aim, we endeavor to foster conversations, and serve as a catalyst for parties already active in the field, helping to identify and develop best practices, guidelines, and plans going forward in the spirit of the Terezin Declaration.
Our Mission
As tasked by the Terezin Declaration, ESLI’s mission is to monitor and advocate for the compliance with the Terezin Declaration and to find systemic solutions leading to the restitution of immovable property; recovery of art; stolen Judaica and Jewish cultural assets; provision of adequate social welfare to Holocaust (Shoah) survivors and other victims of Nazism; and promotion of Holocaust education, research and remembrance on an international level.
In advocating and monitoring these issues, ESLI operates on an international scale, in close affiliation with the European Union, with individual European Union member-countries, and those not part of the EU. The Institute also has a close working relationship with many non-European states, particularly the United States and Israel.
The five areas of ESLI's work
1. Welfare of Holocaust survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution. The Terezin Declaration says it is unacceptable that those who suffered so greatly should live in poverty at the end of their lives. ESLI mapped how states support survivors through the Social Welfare Database, which it launched at the 2015 International Welfare Conference in Prague, and it raised the issue at the European Parliament. See Social welfare.
2. Restitution and compensation of immovable property. In 2010, ESLI published the Guidelines and Best Practices for the Restitution and Compensation of Immovable (Real) Property, which 43 countries later endorsed. It reviewed progress at the 2012 Immovable Property Review Conference and commissioned a restitution study covering all 47 Terezin Declaration countries. The study's country-by-country findings are on the Restitution of Immovable Property map. See Property issues.
3. Recovery of looted art. ESLI promoted provenance research as the key to fair and just solutions for Nazi-looted art. It ran five Provenance Research Training Program workshops between 2012 and 2014 and worked with the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs. See Looted art.
4. Recovery and study of Judaica. Ritual objects, books and archives taken from Jewish communities are often hard to identify. ESLI encouraged documentation and research on Judaica and Jewish cultural property. See Judaica.
5. Holocaust education, remembrance and research. ESLI ran two international poster competitions, "Keeping the Memory Alive", with Yad Vashem and other partners, and it organised exhibitions on the lives of Holocaust survivors and on children in the Terezín ghetto. See Education and remembrance.
Where this work continues
ESLI was wound up at the end of August 2017, and this website is an independent archive of its materials. The Terezin agenda has continued elsewhere. In the United States, the JUST Act of 2017 led to a State Department report in 2020 on how Terezin Declaration countries were meeting their commitments. On 5 March 2024, 21 countries endorsed new Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art. The Claims Conference continues to report on the needs of the roughly 196,600 Jewish Holocaust survivors who were alive in January 2026. The documents in this archive (guidelines, studies, conference proceedings and databases) remain a starting point for anyone following these issues.
Frequently asked questions
Was the Terezin Declaration legally binding?
No. It is a political and moral commitment by 47 states. ESLI's role was to monitor and encourage implementation, not to enforce it.
Which countries endorsed the Terezin Declaration?
Forty-six states signed it in 2009, and Serbia endorsed it later. The archive has information on each signatory country.