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Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce (Project HEART)
The Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce or Project HEART is a Holocaust restitution project that was created and funded with assistance from the Israeli government to locate Holocaust victims and their heirs and the property that was taken from them during the Holocaust and to assist in obtaining restitution for that property. Restitution will be sought using databases containing the claims of Holocaust victims and their heirs and information about the property that was taken from them. Those who are interested in participating are directed to fill out a questionnaire to determine their eligibility and may also access a website and call center for assistance. Questionnaires will be collected and processed by an administrator and then forwarded to the Israeli government, which will negotiate with the relevant governments involved. This project uses innovations, such as the Internet, not used in previous restitution attempts and marks what could be a final attempt at obtaining restitution for aged Holocaust victims and their heirs.

Origin of the project and purpose
Project HEART is an undertaking of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), created jointly with Prime Minister Binyamin (Benjamin) Netanyahu of Israel and the Government of Israel Ministry of Senior Citizens Affairs. It is chaired by Rafi Eitan, former senior citizens affairs minister, and its executive director is Bobby Brown of JAFI. Brown is from New York and has been involved in Holocaust restitution for more than ten years, including when he served as Diaspora affairs advisor during Netanyahu’s first term.

The project began in late February 2011 and has offices in both Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Brussels, Belgium. It is being funded by the Israeli government, which is providing it with more than $2.5 million a year for three years. This is the first time the government of Israel has been directly involved with a Holocaust restitution project.

Its purpose is to locate Jewish Holocaust victims and their heirs whose personal property was seized by the Nazis and provide them with the means and information to help them seek restitution for the stolen property. Efforts to reach people worldwide include advertising, media exposure, and encouraging Jewish nongovernmental organizations to spread the word to their members and to the Jewish community in general. The program’s focus is to gather information with the ultimate goal of restitution. Its first step is to identify people with potential claims for certain types of private property that was confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold in countries governed or occupied by Nazi or Axis forces during the Holocaust. The various types of property that are eligible for restitution include immovable property such as real estate; movable property such as jewelry, tools, or art; or intangible personal property such as stocks, bonds, or savings accounts. However, if Holocaust victims or their heirs have already received restitution for a particular piece of property, then they are no longer eligible for further compensation for that property.

Online database
A searchable database, assembled from European public records, of more than a half million pieces of property that belonged to Jews before the beginning of World War II was released on May 1, 2011. In two months, the database increased to 2 million records, making it the largest publicly available single-source database of Jewish property lost during the Holocaust era. It was created to help Holocaust victims and their heirs identify property that may belong to them and includes property addresses, lists of homeowners and professions, lists of known confiscated properties, business directories, insurance policies, and other information. This database and one that contains information collected regarding Holocaust victims and their heirs along with their claims will then be used to seek restitution along with the cooperation of governments that have not done so yet. The property database will be particularly useful for corroborating and authenticating property claims.

Participation in the project
Participation in Project HEART requires filling out a questionnaire, which can be found on the project’s website, http://www.heartwebsite.org. Providing evidence of property ownership is not required to be eligible. Individuals may note on the questionnaire why they think they owned or are beneficiaries of eligible property. A website and a call center are available in 13 languages, and either one may be utilized to obtain questionnaires or more information about the program. Individuals may also access the property database on the website for research purposes. Once all questionnaires are processed, restitution claims will be classified as containing complete, incomplete, or no documentation. After that, the claims will be submitted to the government of Israel, which will then negotiate for restitution with the governments of countries in which the properties were lost. Any compensation Project HEART recovers will be disbursed directly to Holocaust survivors and their heirs if they can be located; funds will not be directed anywhere else.

History and past restitution attempts
The basis for this endeavor to seek restitution is a resolution passed during the 2009 Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague. In this resolution, 46 countries agreed to the principle of compensating Holocaust victims and their heirs for property lost in their respective countries and that restitution should be handled by the governments involved. However, this resolution is legally nonbinding.

Previous attempts at restitution include legislation that was passed in Eastern European countries around the time of the fall of Communism that allowed Jews to seek restitution for property lost during the Holocaust, but the resulting compensation did not amount to much. There are also organizations that have been devoted to securing restitution for Holocaust survivors and to assisting Holocaust victims in various ways. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), founded in 1951, is one of the best-known institutions that has fought for this cause. And in 1993, the World Jewish Restitution Organization was founded by several Jewish groups including JAFI and the Claims Conference to work with countries and governments and Jewish communities and organizations on negotiations and cooperative agreements and to research and compile information about Jewish communal and public property.

Project administrator
A.B. Data, Ltd. has been appointed by JAFI and the Israeli government as Project HEART’s administrator.