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		Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the US
Home Up Art Recovery Assistance Embassies General Information Insurance Claims Other Swiss Assets Swiss Bank Accounts Disclaimer		Unpaid World War II Insurance Claims Note: Links on this page may take you to other third-party sites. To return, use your browser's "Back" button. Disclaimer Information On Unpaid World War II Insurance Claims If you or your family member has an uncollected insurance claim by virtue of a life, dowry, or property insurance policy held with a European insurance company at the time of the war, you can now file a claim. During the war, people often invested more in insurance than they did in banks. After the war, many insurance companies often turned claimants away for lack of documentation. Today some of these companies have assets in the United States. If you believe that you or a family member purchased an insurance policy prior to the war please have complete a claim form and mail it to: State of New York Banking Department, Holocaust Claims Processing Office, 2 Rector Street, New York, NY, 10006. Claim forms can be obtained by the Holocaust Claims Processing office by calling the toll free number (800)695-3318. If you require assistance with filling out the form you can call the toll free number: (800)695-3318 and speak with a staff person at the Holocaust Claims Processing Office. The staff people are trained to assist individuals with the forms and speak a number of languages, including Russian. At this point an International Commission has been formed which is being chaired by Lawrence S. Eagleburger and consists of American insurance regulators, European insurance regulators, representatives of European insurance companies and the World Jewish Congress. A process is being developed to address insurance claims. Therefore, whether someone has no evidence or whether they have a great deal of evidence, individuals can submit a claim form so that their claim may be considered in the settlement. For more information on unpaid World War II insurance claims: State of New York Banking Dept. Holocaust Claims Processing Office National Association of Insurance Commissioners Bnai Brith German Reparations German Compensation for National Socialist Crimes (Top of Page) Since the Second World War, Germany has enacted a number of laws providing compensation for people who suffered persecution at the hands of the Nazis. Over the course of its forty year-plus compensation program, these laws have resulted in billions of dollars being paid to hundreds of thousands of individuals. Compensation for crimes committed by the Nazi regime began soon after the Second World War when the occupation powers, with the exception of the Soviet Union, enacted laws in their individual zones restoring property confiscated by the Nazis to the original owners. The first such law was American: Military Government Law 59, which went into effect in November, 1947. The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) undertook its first compensation initiatives soon after its founding in 1949. Compensation was a high priority for Konrad Adenauer, the FRG's first Chancellor, who stated on September 27, 1951: "In our name, unspeakable crimes have been committed and demand compensation and restitution, both moral and material, for the persons and properties of the Jews who have been so seriously harmed…" Compensation Programs Hardship Fund (Top of Page) During the period of détente, a large number of Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union and from behind the Iron Curtain. These people had not been eligible to apply under the BEG and found that, by the time of their emigration to the West, the filing period for the BEG had expired. In order to make compensation available to eligible members of this group, the FRG created the Hardship Fund which is administered by the Claims Conference. HOW TO APPLY: Applications for compensation under the Hardship Fund are still being accepted. Compensation is available to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution who (i) have received no previous compensation and (ii) currently live under difficult financial conditions. Compensation under the Hardship Fund consists of a one time payment. of DM 5000. Interested parties should request applications from: Hardship Fund Claims Conference 15 East 26th Street, Room 906 New York, NY 10010 Article 2 Fund (Top of Page) Unification forced the German government to evaluate how the country would continue, or change, the compensation efforts of its two predecessor states, East and West Germany. During the 1990 negotiations on German unification, the decision was taken to confirm, and partially extend, West Germany's existing provisions on compensation. This decision was formalized in Article 2 of the "Agreement on the Enactment and Interpretation of the Unification Treaty" of September 18, 1990 that unified Germany. The Article 2 Fund was established and, like the Hardship Fund, is administered by the Claims Conference. HOW TO APPLY: Applications for compensation under the Article 2 Fund are still being accepted. Jewish victims of Nazi persecution are eligible if they were: six months or longer in a concentration camp or eighteen months or longer in a ghetto or eighteen months or longer in hiding; and received no more than DM 10,000 in previous compensation; and currently live under difficult financial circumstances. If eligible, compensation is a lifetime pension in the amount of 500DM per month. Interested parties should request application from: Article 2 Fund Claims Conference 15 East. 26th Street, Room 906 New York, NY 10010 Those considering applying under the CJMC program should be aware the Conference has received many more applications than anticipated under the program, and has a substantial back-log of claims to be processed. Compensation for Non-Jewish Victims (Top of Page) In 1981, the Bundestag decided to make up to DM 100 million available for payments to non-Jewish victims of the Nazi regime who had previously been unable to receive compensation. HOW TO APPLY: Applications are still being accepted for this fund, which is managed by the Regierungspraesident in Cologne (Koeln). Based on the German Federal Government's guidelines of August 26, 1981, one-time aid can be granted if the recipient is a non-Jewish victim of persecution who resides in a Western country, who suffered injury to health as a result of injustices perpetrated by the Nazis and who is in a state of particular (financial) need. A further prerequisite is that the victim has received no or very little compensation for the injustices committed against them by the Nazis. Interested parties should contact: Regierungspraesident Koeln Bezirksregierung Koeln 50606 Koeln Germany If you were last employed as a salaried employee in your former homeland, please contact: Bundesversicherungsanstalt fuer Angestellte 10704 Berlin Germany If you were last employed as a manual worker in your former homeland: Landesversicherungsanstalt Freie und Hansesradt-Hamburg Postfach 60 15 60 22215 Hamburg Germany The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany 15 East 26th St., Room 906 New York, NY 10010 (212)696-4944 (212)679-2126 FAX
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