Starting in December, The Hague will place advertisements in Dutch and foreign media, intended for Jewish owners of property in the city during the Second World War. These property owners may be eligible for moral restitution. The Hague has earmarked € 2.6 million for this fund.
The advertisement will be placed in Dutch, English, American, Israeli and Belgian media. It will explain that the Municipality of The Hague has decided to provide moral restitution for Jewish owners of stolen property during and after the Second World War. Their properties were confiscated by the Germans but after the war they received a bill from the municipality for back payments for land lease and street tax.
As of 1 January 2018, a special advisory committee with representatives from the municipality and the Jewish community will evaluate the applications for individual moral restitution. Jewish homeowners in The Hague or their relatives, who paid street tax and ground lease after the war for the 1942-1945 period, can submit an application until the end of 2018.
Mayor Pauline Krikke created the committee on 6 December. During the official ceremony the mayor was handed the first copy of the book ‘Daar dit een immorele aanslag is’ by historian Robin te Slaa who researched The Hague’s attitude towards Jewish property owners from 1940-1955.
Based on the research conducted in 2016, the municipality started talks with Jewish representatives in The Hague and the municipality decided to grant moral restitution.
More information and the application form can be found at www.denhaag.nl/joodsmoreelrechtsherstel.
