Nazi loot: now it's the Belgians' turn

Missed this story last week; it doesn't appear to have received much press:

Belgian banks have begun returning possessions of Jews deported or killed during World War II to their heirs from safe deposit boxes that had been sealed for more than half a century. . .

"We've identified 12 people, but it's not finished,'' [Belgian Finance Minister Didier] Reynders said at a ceremony in Brussels. "We have to continue in the coming years with the identification of any other possible claimants". . .

In 2002, the Jewish community was awarded 110 million euros ($133 million) by banks, the Belgian government and insurance companies as compensation for money that was stolen during the war. There are about 6,000 applications for compensation and the heirs are still being identified. . .

Meanwhile, the Jewish community in Belgium finds itself threatened once again.

Posted by David on April 15, 2004 3:16 PM