More than six decades after the end of World War II, with the population of Holocaust survivors rapidly diminishing, a new effort is underway to assist Jewish survivors in gaining compensation for property taken from them and their families during the era of the Holocaust.
And while this worldwide effort originates in Israel, the work is being done in Milwaukee.
The creation of Project HEART (Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce), co-sponsored by the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), was announced in Jerusalem Feb. 23. A.B. Data, a Milwaukee company, has been named project administrator.
“The government of Israel has taken yet another significant step in bringing a measure of justice to Holocaust survivors worldwide,” said Anya Verkhovskaya, director of Project HEART and senior executive vice president and chief operating officer at A.B. Data, in a telephone interview March 14. “It’s a big and important process.”
The initial stage of the process involves locating individuals who never received restitution for property they lost during the Holocaust, including:
• “Immovable property,” such as real estate.
• “Movable property,” such as art, Judaica, and jewelry.
• “Intangible personal property,” such as stocks, bonds, and savings accounts.
The application process begins by completing the questionnaire on the project’s Web site: http://www.heartwebsite.org.
Verkhovskaya emphasized that individuals may apply for restitution even if they lack documentary evidence of ownership of the lost property.
While “we welcome the submission of documents,” Verkhovskaya said, “we also are going to provide extensive archival information on the Project HEART’s Web site.” This means that individuals who believe they owned or were beneficiaries of immovable, movable, or intangible personal property taken from them during the Holocaust era can explain the basis for that belief in completing the questionnaire and research it further on www.heartwebsite.org.
“We want the voices of the survivors and their families to be heard,” Verkhovskaya said.
Beyond giving victims and their families the opportunity to recount the stories of their losses, Project HEART will also assist them with the archival research that could turn up documentary evidence of their claims.
Verkhovskaya noted that “many more archives have opened up in recent years,” and that there is thus more data available on which to base claims.
According to a press release announcing the initiative, eligibility to make a claim is limited to Jewish Holocaust victims and their heirs worldwide whose families’ immovable, movable, or intangible personal property was confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold in countries governed or occupied by Nazi forces or Axis powers during the Holocaust era.
If a victim or the heirs have already received restitution for the loss of a particular property, “they are not eligible for further restitution in connection with that property,” according to the press release.
Verkhovskaya said that after the processing of the questionnaires, claims for restitution will be categorized according to whether they contain “complete documentation, incomplete documentation, or no documentation.”
She said all the claims will then be turned over to the Israeli government, which will take up the second major phase of the initiative, government-to-government negotiations for restitution.
Getting the word out
Right now, however, Project HEART is focused upon finding the victims and encouraging them to engage in the restitution process.
“One of the most important things right now is getting the word out there,” said Orit Cohen, the outreach coordinator for Project HEART, in a telephone interview March 10.
“We are advertising worldwide, doing interviews with the media, and asking Jewish NGOs [non-governmental organizations] to get the word out to their own communities,” to reach as many survivors as possible, Cohen said.
A.B. Data employs a staff to advertise Project HEART, create a Web site for it, set up a call center, as well as collect and process the questionnaires.
“There are dozens of staff people who work full time on Project HEART,” Verkhovskaya said, “and we have a lot of part-time people answering phone calls from all over the world, 24 hours a day, five days a week, in 13 different languages.” She said most Project HEART staff members are located at the A.B. Data offices in Milwaukee.
Verkhovskaya said A.B. Data is uniquely qualified to handle this job.
“In the past, A.B. Data compiled lists of Jewish organizations worldwide, and has assisted many non-profit Jewish organizations in direct mail fundraising,” she said. “Twelve years ago, A.B. Data was the only company in the world with the ability to reach out to all Jewish organizations, leading to the Swiss bank settlement.”
Verkhovskaya was referring to A.B. Data’s role in the Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation, and the resulting $1.25 billion settlement with Swiss banks.
Acting as consultant to A.B. Data in the Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation, Verkhovskaya herself was credited with heading programs that delivered notice to more than 10,000 Jewish communities in 109 countries in which more than 80 different languages were spoken.
Asked why, after more than six decades, the process of gaining restitution for Holocaust victims is still far from complete, Verkhovskaya pointed to the relatively recent expansion in access to archival sources.
She also said the advent of such technology as email and the Internet now makes the cost of administering restitution projects “more manageable than they were 50 years ago.”
“Is this an excuse? No,” she said. “There are many reasons [that restitution has taken so long], and we will probably never know the actual reason. What’s important now is that we help Jewish communities spread the word about this project, and that as many people as possible are reached.”
A.B. Data was founded by Milwaukeeans Jerry Benjamin, current president of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and Bruce Arbit, a past-president of MJF.
Readers who wish to contact Project HEART can call (toll free) 1-800-584-1559, or the direct line 1-414-967-2581, or visit the Web site www.heartwebsite.org.
Lynne Kleinman, Ph.D., a retired teacher and journalist, is currently working with a group developing “Jewish Neighbors in Wisconsin: A Web-based Curriculum,” a project of the Wisconsin Society for Jewish Learning, Inc.
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