The robbery and restitution of Jewish property are two inextricably linked social processes. It is not possible to understand the lawsuits and international agreements on the restoration of Jewish property of the late 1990s without examining what was robbed and by whom. In this volume distinguished historians first outline the mechanisms and scope of the European-wide program of plunder and then assess the effectiveness and historical implications of post-war restitution efforts. Everywhere the solution of legal and material problems was intertwined with changing national myths about the war and conflicting interpretations of justice. Even those countries that pursued extensive restitution programs using rigorous legal means were unable to compensate or fully comprehend the scale of Jewish loss. Especially in Eastern Europe, it was not until the collapse of communism that the concept of restoring some Jewish property rights even became a viable option. Integrating the abundance of new research on the material effects of the Holocaust and its aftermath, this comparative perspective examines the developments in Germany, Poland, Italy, France, Belgium, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The robbery and restitution of Jewish property are two inextricably linked social processes. It is not possible to understand the lawsuits and international agreements on the restoration of Jewish property of the late 1990s without examining what was robbed and by whom. In this volume distinguished historians first outline the mechanisms and scope of the European-wide program of plunder and then assess the effectiveness and historical implications of post-war restitution efforts. Everywhere the solution of legal and material problems was intertwined with changing national myths about the war and conflicting interpretations of justice. Even those countries that pursued extensive restitution programs using rigorous legal means were unable to compensate or fully comprehend the scale of Jewish loss. Especially in Eastern Europe, it was not until the collapse of communism that the concept of restoring some Jewish property rights even became a viable option. Integrating the abundance of new research on the material effects of the Holocaust and its aftermath, this comparative perspective examines the developments in Germany, Poland, Italy, France, Belgium, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Reviews
offers an extremely useful survey and an indispensable toolfor anyone seeking to develop a grasp of the issues at stake. Journal of Modern History
Robbery and Restitution adds to the excellent reputation of Berghahns Studies on War and Genocide series under the general editorship of Omer Bartov and Dirk Moses. Readers familiar with the series know that it summarizes the most recent research on such topics as the Massacre in History, Nazi Extermination Policies, and Genocide and Religion. One of the latest volumes, Robbery and Restitution is essential reading for all Holocaust scholarsI recommend this book to all serious scholars. A brief review cannot do justice to the subtlety of the arguments, but these excellent essays greatly advance our understanding of the complex issues. Holocaust and Genocide Studies
A well-structured, ambitious collection of essays, it will certainly be an essential read for anyone interested in the anti-Jewish policies of National Socialist Germany and their long-term consequences for postwar Europe. H-German
List of Abbreviations
Preface
Part I: Introduction
Introduction: A History without Boundaries: The Robbery and Restitution of
Jewish Property in Europe
Constantin Goschler and Philipp Ther
Part II: The Robbery of Jewish Property in Comparative Perspective
Chapter
1. The Seizure of Jewish Property in Europe: Comparative Aspects of
Nazi Methods and Local Responses
Martin Dean
Chapter
2. Aryanization and Restitution in Germany
Frank Bajohr
Chapter
3. The Looting of Jewish Property in Occupied Western Europe: A
Comparative Study of Belgium, France, and the Netherlands
Jean-Marc Dreyfus
Chapter
4. The Robbery of Jewish Property in Eastern Europe under German
Occupation, 19391942
Dieter Pohl
Chapter
5. The Robbery of Jewish Property in Eastern European States Allied
with Nazi Germany
Tatjana Tönsmeyer
Part III: The Restitution of Jewish Property in Comparative Perspective
Chapter
6. West Germany and the Restitution of Jewish Property in Europe
Jurgen Lillteicher
Chapter
7. Jewish Property and the Politics of Restitution in Germany after
1945
Constantin Goschler
Chapter
8. Two Approaches to Compensation in France: Restitution and
Reparation
Claire Andrieu
Chapter
9. The Expropriation of Jewish Property and Restitution in Belgium
Rudi van Doorslaer
Chapter
10. Indifference and Forgetting: Italy and its Jewish Community,
19381970
Ilaria Pavan
Chapter
11. Why Switzerland? Remarks on a Neutrals Role in the Nazi
Program of Robbery and Allied Postwar Restitution Policy
Regula Ludi
Chapter
12. The Hungarian Gold Train: Fantasies of Wealth and the Madness of
Genocide
Ronald W. Zweig
Chapter
13. Reluctant Restitution: The Restitution of Jewish Property in the
Bohemian Lands after the Second World War
Eduard Kubu and Jan Kuklík Jr.
Chapter
14. The Polish Debate on the Holocaust and the Restitution of
Property
Dariusz Stola
Part IV: Concluding Remarks
Conclusion: Reflections on the Restitution and Compensation of Holocaust
Theft: Past, Present, and Future
Gerald D. Feldman
Notes on Contributors
Select Bibliography
Index
Martin Dean is a Research Scholar at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). He is the author of Collaboration in the Holocaust, published in association with the USHMM in 2000, and of several articles on the confiscation of Jewish property. From 1992 to 1997 he worked as Senior Historian for the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit.
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