Jewish Amsterdammers to get back WWII property fines

The descendants of Jewish Amsterdammers who were charged a fine for not paying ground rent for their properties during World War II can get their money back, the Parool reports on Friday.

Research by the Niod institute for war documentation shows at least 240 people were fined for not paying ground rent even though they were in hiding or had been sent to a concentration camp.

In addition, around 900 dormant bank accounts which belonged to World War II victims have been identified. That money too can be reclaimed, the Parool says. Most of the accounts were almost empty and the average repayment, by today’s standards, will be around € 3.52.

The council has set aside €1m to fund the repayments, which can be claimed via a special website.

The Netherlands is still struggling to come to terms with the way it treated Jews who returned home in 1945 and whose property and possessions had been stolen or lost.

Only 35,000 of the country’s Jewish population of 140,000 survived the war and 102,000 of the 107,000 who were deported to death camps were killed.