US envoy welcomes Lithuanian govt's Jewish private property restitution proposal

VILNIUS – Ellen Germain, special envoy for Holocaust issues at the US Department of State, welcomed the Lithuanian government's proposal to compensate Jews for lost private property as she visited Vilnius on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said.  

"Germain welcomed the draft law submitted by the Lithuanian government to the Seimas, which aims to address the outstanding issues of the unreturned property of Jewish persons who lived in Lithuania before or during World War Two, stressing that ensuring justice for Holocaust survivors and their heirs is an important issue of human rights and the rule of law," it said in a press release. 

The bill calls for transferring 37 million euros to the Good Will Foundation in 2024 to 2030 as compensation for expropriated private Jewish property. The foundation would pay out the money to property owners and their heirs based on the claims received.

Under the existing law adopted in 2011, Lithuania committed itself to paying 37 million euros over a decade in compensation for seized Jewish communal property. The process should be completed by next March.