Posted March 11 2008
Belgian Holocaust Survivors and Families to get $170 Million
“In a certain way, justice has been done. Unfortunately, there are people who never came back” from the Nazi death camps, said Eli Ringer, the co-chair of the Committee on the Restitution of Jewish Assets.
The latest government restitution payments for victims and remaining family members of the Holocaust will be coming from the Belgian government. The $170 million will be paid out to two sub-categories, $54 million will be paid to individual claimants while the rest will go to a Jewish trust that will help the poor and keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.
Belgium has 5,210 outstanding claims, with only 162 amounting to more than $30,000 each.
The restitution commission acknowledged that its offer fell short of some claimants’ expectations, saying it was “frequently confronted with the disappointment of rightful claimants who had plainly expected much bigger indemnification.”
For Belgium, it was another opportunity to come to terms with a dark chapter of its history.
Last year, a government-backed report blamed Belgian authorities and the ruling elite for collaborating with the Nazi persecution of Jews.
[from MSNBC]
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It is extremely interesting that there seems to be no form of statute of limitations for something like this. I understand why though.