[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 153 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 153

      Expressing the sense of the Senate on the restitution of or 
  compensation for property seized during the Nazi and Communist eras.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2009

   Mr. Nelson of Florida (for himself and Mr. Cardin) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Expressing the sense of the Senate on the restitution of or 
  compensation for property seized during the Nazi and Communist eras.

Whereas many Eastern European countries were dominated for parts of the last 
        century by Nazi or Communist regimes, without the consent of their 
        people;
Whereas victims under the Nazi regime included individuals persecuted or 
        targeted for persecution by the Nazi or Nazi-allied governments based on 
        their religious, ethnic, or cultural identity, as well as their 
        political beliefs, sexual orientation, or disability;
Whereas the Nazi regime and the authoritarian and totalitarian regimes that 
        emerged in Eastern Europe after World War II perpetuated the wrongful 
        and unjust confiscation of property belonging to the victims of Nazi 
        persecution, including real property, personal property, and financial 
        assets;
Whereas communal and religious property was an early target of the Nazi regime 
        and, by expropriating churches, synagogues and other community-
        controlled property, the Nazis denied religious communities the temporal 
        facilities that held those communities together;
Whereas after World War II, Communist regimes expanded the systematic 
        expropriation of communal and religious property in an effort to 
        eliminate the influence of religion;
Whereas many insurance companies that issued policies in pre-World War II 
        Eastern Europe were nationalized or had their subsidiary assets 
        nationalized by Communist regimes;
Whereas such nationalized companies and those with nationalized subsidiaries 
        have generally not paid the proceeds or compensation due on pre-war 
        policies, because control of those companies or their Eastern European 
        subsidiaries had passed to their respective governments;
Whereas Eastern European countries involved in these nationalizations have not 
        participated in a compensation process for Holocaust-era insurance 
        policies for victims of Nazi persecution;
Whereas the protection of and respect for private property rights is a basic 
        principle for all democratic governments that operate according to the 
        rule of law;
Whereas the rule of law and democratic norms require that the activity of 
        governments and their administrative agencies be exercised in accordance 
        with the laws passed by their parliaments or legislatures, and such laws 
        themselves must be consistent with international human rights standards;
Whereas in July 2001, the Paris Declaration of the Organization for Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly noted that the 
        process of restitution, compensation, and material reparation of victims 
        of Nazi persecution has not been pursued with the same degree of 
        comprehensiveness by all of the OSCE participating states;
Whereas the OSCE participating states have agreed to achieve or maintain full 
        recognition and protection of all types of property, including private 
        property and the right to prompt, just, and effective compensation for 
        private property that is taken for public use;
Whereas the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has called on the participating states 
        to ensure that they implement appropriate legislation to secure the 
        restitution of or compensation for property losses of victims of Nazi 
        persecution, including communal organizations and institutions, 
        irrespective of the current citizenship or place of residence of the 
        victims, their heirs, or the relevant successors to communal property;
Whereas Congress passed resolutions in the 104th and 105th Congresses that 
        emphasized the longstanding support of the United States for the 
        restitution of or compensation for property wrongly confiscated during 
        the Nazi and Communist eras;
Whereas certain post-Communist countries in Europe have taken steps toward 
        compensating victims of Nazi persecution whose property was confiscated 
        by the Nazis or their allies and collaborators during World War II or 
        subsequently seized by Communist governments;
Whereas at the 1998 Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, 44 countries 
        adopted the Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art to guide the restitution 
        of looted artwork and cultural property;
Whereas the Government of Lithuania has promised to adopt an effective legal 
        framework to provide for the restitution of or compensation for wrongly 
        confiscated communal property, but so far has not done so;
Whereas successive governments in Poland have promised to adopt an effective 
        general property compensation law, but the current government has yet to 
        adopt one;
Whereas the legislation providing for the restitution of or compensation for 
        wrongly confiscated property in Europe has, in various instances, not 
        always been implemented in an effective, transparent, and timely manner;
Whereas such legislation is of the utmost importance in returning or 
        compensating property wrongfully seized by totalitarian or authoritarian 
        governments to its rightful owners;
Whereas compensation and restitution programs can never bring back to Holocaust 
        survivors what was taken from them, or in any way make up for their 
        suffering; and
Whereas there are Holocaust survivors, now in the twilight of their lives, who 
        are impoverished and in urgent need of assistance, lacking the resources 
        to support basic needs, including adequate shelter, food, or medical 
        care: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) appreciates the efforts of those European countries 
        that have enacted legislation for the restitution of or 
        compensation for private, communal, and religious property 
        wrongly confiscated during the Nazi or Communist eras, and 
        urges each of those countries to ensure that the legislation is 
        effectively and justly implemented;
            (2) welcomes the efforts of many post-Communist countries 
        to address the complex and difficult question of the status of 
        confiscated properties, and urges those countries to ensure 
        that their restitution or compensation programs are implemented 
        in a timely, non-discriminatory manner;
            (3) urges the Government of Poland and the governments of 
        other countries in Europe that have not already done so to 
        immediately enact fair, comprehensive, non-discriminatory, and 
        just legislation so that victims of Nazi persecution (or the 
        heirs or successors of such persons) who had their private 
        property looted and wrongly confiscated by the Nazis during 
        World War II and subsequently seized by a Communist government 
        are able to obtain either restitution of their property or, 
        where restitution is not possible, fair compensation;
            (4) urges the Government of Lithuania and the governments 
        of other countries in Europe that have not already done so to 
        immediately enact fair, comprehensive, non-discriminatory, and 
        just legislation so that communities that had communal and 
        religious property looted and wrongly confiscated by the Nazis 
        during World War II and subsequently seized by a Communist 
        government (or the relevant successors to such property or the 
        relevant foundations) are able to obtain either restitution of 
        their property or, where restitution is not possible, fair 
        compensation;
            (5) urges the countries of Europe which have not already 
        done so to ensure that all such restitution and compensation 
        legislation is established in accordance with principles of 
        justice and provides a simple, transparent, and prompt process, 
        so that it results in a tangible benefit to those surviving 
        victims of Nazi persecution who suffered from the unjust 
        confiscation of their property, many of whom are well into 
        their senior years;
            (6) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to 
        engage in an open dialogue with leaders of those countries that 
        have not already enacted such legislation to support the 
        adoption of legislation requiring the fair, comprehensive, and 
        nondiscriminatory restitution of or compensation for private, 
        communal, and religious property that was seized and 
        confiscated during the Nazi and Communist eras; and
            (7) welcomes the decision by the Government of the Czech 
        Republic to host in June 2009 an international conference for 
        governments and non-governmental organizations to continue the 
        work done at the 1998 Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era 
        Assets, which will--
                    (A) address the issues of restitution of or 
                compensation for real property, personal property 
                (including art and cultural property), and financial 
                assets wrongfully confiscated by the Nazis or their 
                allies and collaborators and subsequently wrongfully 
                confiscated by Communist regimes;
                    (B) review issues related to the opening of 
                archives and the work of historical commissions, review 
                progress made, and focus on the next steps required on 
                these issues; and
                    (C) examine social welfare issues related to the 
                needs of Holocaust survivors, and identify methods and 
                resources to meet to such needs.
                                 <all>