Robbery and Restitution

The Conflict over Jewish Property in Europe

Martin Dean, Constantin Goschler, Philipp Ther

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781845455934
• eBook ISBN: 9780857455642
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Holocaust History
• Index: Social Sciences

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.

Table of contents

• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Part I: Introduction
• Chapter 1 A History Without Boundaries
• Part II: The Robbery of Jewish Property in Comparative Perspective
• Chapter 2 The Seizure of Jewish Property in Europe
• Chapter 3 Aryanization and Restitution in Germany
• Chapter 4 The Looting of Jewish Property in Occupied Western Europe
• Chapter 5 The Robbery of Jewish Property in Eastern Europe under German Occupation, 1939-1942
• Chapter 6 The Robbery of Jewish Property in Eastern European States Allied with Nazi Germany
• Part III: The Restitution of Jewish Property in Comparative Perspective
• Chapter 7 West Germany and the Restitution of Jewish Property in Europe
• Chapter 8 Jewish Property and the Politics of Restitution in Germany after 1945
• Chapter 9 Two Approaches to Compensation in France
• Chapter 10 The Expropriation of Jewish Property and Restitution in Belgium
• Chapter 11 Indifference and Forgetting
• Chapter 12 "Why Switzerland?"
• Chapter 13 The Hungarian Gold Train
• Chapter 14 Reluctant Restitution
• Chapter 15 The Polish Debate on the Holocaust and the Restitution of Property
• Part IV: Concluding Remarks
• Chapter 16 Reflections on the Restitution and Compensation of Holocaust Theft
• Bibliography
• Index