[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.
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