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The Terezin Declaration is a declaration issued by 47 countries on June 2009, agreeing on measures to right economic wrongs that accompanied the Holocaust against the Jews and other target groups in Europe. The conference took place in Terezín, the site of the Theresienstadt Ghetto. A year later 43 of the signatories endorsed a companion document, the 2010 Guidelines and Best Practices for the Restitution and Compensation of Immovable (Real) Property, which set best practices for immovable property. According to the guidelines restitution of the property itself (in rem) is preferred, however when that is not possible payment or substitute property that is "genuinely fair and adequate" is possible.

During the Holocaust, plunder of Jewish property took place in an organized and comprehensive scale. Following the war, while some Jews received their property back, this tended to be the exception. People who held on to plundered property considered it their own and resented survivors who came back to claim their property. While many countries passed laws on restitution, in many case these were in effect in name only, and in Eastern Europe were often in effect only for a few years. The Terezin declaration was passed in 2009 as a result of what US ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat termed "the unfinished business of World War II".

In addition to restitution to survivors and heirs, the Terezin Declaration states that heirless property (which devolved to the state) should be used for the benefit of needy Holocaust survivors, commemoration, and Holocaust education.

The Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2017, requires the United States Department of State to report to congress on steps that the signatories of the Terezin Declaration have taken to compensate Holocaust survivors and their heirs for assets seized by Nazi Germany and post-war communist governments.

Notes

1. 46 countries signed in 2009, and in addition Serbia attended the conference as an observer but later ratified the declaration

References

1. ^ Contemporary Human Rights Challenges: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Continuing Relevance, Routlege, edited by Carla Ferstman, Tony Gray, 2019
2. ^ Searching for Justice After the Holocaust: Fulfilling the Terezin Declaration and Immovable Property Restitution, By Michael J. Bazyler, Kathryn Lee Boyd, Kristen L. Nelson, Oxford University Press, 2019, pages xxxiii-xxxvi
3. Trump signs Holocaust property law that has angered Poland, AP (TOI reprint), 10 May 2018
4. Trumps Signs Act Strengthening Holocaust Restitution Efforts, 10 May 2018, Jerusalem Post

• Aftermath of the Holocaust
• 2009 in law
• Human rights instruments
• Global ethics