Title

Property Restitution, Compensation and Preservation: Competing Claims in Post-Communist Europe

Thursday, July 18, 1996
10:05am
Room 2255, Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
United States
Official Transcript: 
Members: 
Name: 
Hon. Christopher H. Smith
Title Text: 
Chairman
Body: 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Moderator(s): 
Name: 
Erika Schlager
Title Text: 
Policy Advisor
Body: 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Witnesses: 
Name: 
Delissa Ridgway
Title: 
Chair
Body: 
U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
Name: 
Stuart E. Eizenstat
Title: 
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
Body: 
U.S. Department of Commerce

This hearing, which Rep. Christopher H. Smith (NJ – 04) presided over, focused on how to rectify transgressions against individuals by former totalitarian regimes, which Smith called one of the most challenging issues confronting post-Communist societies in the OSCE region. This specifically related to the wrongful confiscation of property.

Even though some Communist regimes were required by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty to make restitution of Jewish property, these governments duly ignored such directives. In fact, Communist regimes were infamous for their complete disregard for private property, nationalizing factories, etc. Likewise, more recently, efforts to return property to former owners had been uneven and oftentimes unsuccessful, stymied by complex moral and legal obligations.

Relevant countries: 
Leadership: 
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