[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 92 (Thursday, June 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6824-S6825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RESTITUTION OF OR COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY SEIZED DURING NAZI AND 
                             COMMUNIST ERAS

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 79, S. Res. 153.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 153) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate on the restitution of or the compensation for property 
     seized during the Nazi and Communist eras.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DORGAN. I ask the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed 
to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening 
action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 153) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 153

       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;

[[Page S6825]]

       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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