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105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 59

Concerning the return of or compensation for wrongly confiscated foreign

properties in formerly Communist countries and by certain foreign financial institutions.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 9, 1997

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. PORTER, Mr. WOLF, Mr. SALMON,

Mr. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HOYER, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Concerning the return of or compensation for wrongly confiscated foreign properties in formerly Communist countries and by certain foreign financial institutions.

Whereas Fascist and Communist dictatorships have caused

immeasurable human suffering and loss, degrading not

only every conceivable human right, but the human spirit

itself;

Whereas the villainy of communism was dedicated, in particular, to the organized and systematic destruction of private property ownership;

Whereas the wrongful and illegal confiscation of property perpetrated by Fascist and Communist regimes was often

specifically designed to victimize people because of their
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religion, national or social origin, or expressed opposition

to the regimes which repressed them;

Whereas Fascists and Communists often obtained possession

of properties confiscated from the victims of the systems

they actively supported;

Whereas Jewish individuals and communities were often twice

victimized, first by the Nazis and their collaborators and

then by the subsequent Communist regimes;

Whereas churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious

properties were also destroyed or confiscated as a means

of breaking the spiritual devotion and allegiance of religious adherents;

Whereas Fascists, Nazis, and Communists have used foreign

financial institutions to launder and hold wrongfully and

illegally confiscated property and convert it to their own

personal use;

Whereas some foreign financial institutions violated their fiduciary duty to their customers by converting to their

own use financial assets belonging to Holocaust victims

while denying heirs access to these assets;

Whereas refugees from communism, in addition to being

wrongly stripped of their private property, were often

forced to relinquish their citizenship in order to protect

themselves and their families from reprisals by the Communists who ruled their countries;

Whereas the participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have agreed to give full

recognition and protection to all types of property, including private property, as well as the right to prompt,

just, and effective compensation in the event private

property is taken for public use;
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Whereas the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as

well as the Caucasus and Central Asia, have entered a

post-Communist period of transition and democratic development, and many countries have begun the difficult

and wrenching process of trying to right the past wrongs

of previous totalitarian regimes;

Whereas restrictions which require those whose properties

have been wrongly plundered by Nazi or Communist regimes to reside in or have the citizenship of the country

from which they now seek restitution or compensation are

arbitrary and discriminatory in violation of international

law; and

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: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) welcomes the efforts of many post-Com4 munist countries to address the complex and dif5 ficult question of the status of plundered properties;

6 (2) urges countries which have not already done

7 so to return plundered properties to their rightful

8 owners or, as an alternative, pay compensation, in

9 accordance with principles of justice and in a man10 ner that is just, transparent, and fair;
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1 (3) calls for the urgent return of property for2 merly belonging to Jewish communities as a means

3 of redressing the particularly compelling problems of

4 aging and destitute survivors of the Holocaust;

5 (4) calls on the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithua6 nia, Romania, Slovakia and any other country with

7 restrictions which require those whose properties

8 have been wrongly plundered by Nazi or Communist

9 regimes to reside in or have the citizenship of the

10 country from which they now seek restitution or

11 compensation to remove such restrictions from their

12 restitution or compensation laws;

13 (5) calls upon foreign financial institutions, and

14 the states having legal authority over their oper15 ation, that possess wrongfully and illegally property

16 confiscated from Holocaust victims, from residents

17 of former Warsaw Pact states who were forbidden

18 by Communist law from obtaining restitution of such

19 property, and from states that were occupied by

20 Nazi, Fascist, or Communist forces, to assist and to

21 cooperate fully with efforts to restore this property

22 to its rightful owners; and
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1 (6) urges post-Communist countries to pass and

2 effectively implement laws that provide for restitu3 tion of, or compensation for, plundered property.

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