More than 75 years later, justice is still an uphill battle for Holocaust survivors. With vague restitution laws in many European countries, and evidence of property ownership destroyed in the war, Holocaust survivors continue to struggle to recover their stolen property. What was once a moral question has now become a political question, and survivors are dying without justice.
Restitution, the law of returning property or the equivalent monetary value to restore a loss, is not a new concept. Yet, for Lea Evron, obtaining property (or the monetary value of same) that was rightfully hers has been nearly impossible to achieve.
Lea Evron’s family owned a three-story apartment building in Zyviec Poland prior to the war. The apartment was seized by the Nazi’s, and kept by the country’s postwar rulers. Lea and her husband have encountered multiple obstacles in their attempts to regain their property. The couple has advocated for the need to make the restitution process clearer and easier for survivors.
Unfortunately, Lea is not alone in her struggle to obtain restitution. Recently, the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal made by Holocaust survivors pursuing a restitution claim which had already failed in the countries where their property had been stolen. Chief Justice John Roberts held that the United States did not have the jurisdiction to deal with the survivors’ claims.
With so few survivors still alive, it will soon be up to their heirs to honour their loved ones memories and continue to seek restitution.
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