B’nai B’rith International sent a letter to Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos commending the Romanian government for passing legislation on Tuesday that will prioritize restitution claims by Holocaust survivors for property lost during World War II, and later under Communist rule.
Before the start of World War II, and the Holocaust, about 800,000 Jews lived in Romania. Now there are only about 11,000. Romanians who survived the Holocaust found out after the war ended their property was nationalized by Romania’s Communist leadership, which governed Romania until 1989.
There are more than 40,000 claims of lost property today, which were all filed before 2003. Claimants have been waiting for decades for their stolen property, and B’nai B’rith is gratified that Romania is finally taking a step in the right direction, by fixing this injustice.
In the letter from B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin write: “We write to express our approval and thanks for the government’s passage of legislation that would assign priority to restitution claims by Holocaust survivors for property lost during World War II. This measure will not only provide practical assistance to elderly survivors; it also represents an important acknowledgement of the losses suffered by Romanian Jews during this tragic period.”
Click here to read the full letter.
Before the start of World War II, and the Holocaust, about 800,000 Jews lived in Romania. Now there are only about 11,000. Romanians who survived the Holocaust found out after the war ended their property was nationalized by Romania’s Communist leadership, which governed Romania until 1989.
There are more than 40,000 claims of lost property today, which were all filed before 2003. Claimants have been waiting for decades for their stolen property, and B’nai B’rith is gratified that Romania is finally taking a step in the right direction, by fixing this injustice.
In the letter from B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin write: “We write to express our approval and thanks for the government’s passage of legislation that would assign priority to restitution claims by Holocaust survivors for property lost during World War II. This measure will not only provide practical assistance to elderly survivors; it also represents an important acknowledgement of the losses suffered by Romanian Jews during this tragic period.”
Click here to read the full letter.
