Nine municipalities in North Holland launch an investigation to the expropriation of Jewish real estate during the Second World War. Attention is also paid to the period after the war, in which Jews tried to regain their property and the role that the municipalities played in this.
The study is an initiative of the municipality of Alkmaar. The other municipalities are Den Helder, Bergen, Castricum, Heiloo, Dijk en Waard, Hollands Kroon, Schagen and Texel. Together, the municipalities are affiliated with the Regional Archive Alkmaar. Radboud University in Nijmegen will carry out the research. It should be completed by the summer of next year.
Alkmaar has already conducted an exploratory study. It emerged that more research is needed for some buildings to determine how the ownership history has evolved. There were no indications that Alkmaar bought properties itself. There were also no indications that Alkmaar still imposed taxes on Jewish owners after the war.
That happened in other municipalities. like Amsterdam and The Hague. After the war, Jewish owners who had gone into hiding or had been deported were still assessed for, among other things, overdue ground lease.
‘Inhumane consequences’
More and more municipalities investigate their handling of expropriated Jewish real estate. Eindhoven is the last municipality who completed an investigation. This showed that Eindhoven has not purchased any expropriated Jewish houses and has not imposed tax afterwards.
“The research does make it clear that during the war the municipality contributed to treating groups of Eindhoven residents differently, with alarming and inhumane consequences for the Jewish community,” according to the municipality. The municipality is making 90,000 euros available for “strengthening Jewish culture in Eindhoven”.
Amersfoort, Assen, Arnhem, Deventer, Groningen, Hilversum, Haarlem, Meppel, Leeuwarden, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Zaanstad and Zwolle are also conducting or have completed such research.
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