Italian commission: Fascist government methodically confiscated Jewish property

Three years after “Globes” published its investigation, the commission has not yet succeeded in determining whether compensation will be paid, or in setting the amount to be paid.

A commission of inquiry set up by the Italian government has concluded that Italian Jews were methodically and continually robbed of their property during the Holocaust. However, after two and a half years of work, the commission has not yet decided whether the Italian government should compensate the Jewish community and the victims’ heirs. Nor has the committee decided on the amount of compensation that should be paid to the victims.

According to the committee, the robbery started in 1938, and gradually intensified during World War II. Following the establishment of Benitto Mussolini’s puppet regime in northern Italy in late 1943, 8,000 decrees were issued, leading to the seizure of the property of 8,000 Jews and 230 companies in 46 Italian cities.

“They had no mercy on anyone, rich or poor,” Tina Anselmi, president of the Governmental Commission on Jewish Goods, said. “The expropriation decrees applied to nearly everything: silver items, real estate, art works, expensive carpets – and also worthless household items and personal belongings.”

The report sets the value of real estate confiscated through 1945 at $32 million in real terms. Anselmi said that many stolen objects were returned following the war, but jewels, artwork, and other movable property have not been returned to their rightful owners.

Italian Prime Minister Giuliani Amato said that the report had left him “breathless”. He said nothing about the possibility of offering compensation for the stolen property.

Published by Israel's Business Arena on 6 May, 2001