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HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS OWED AS MUCH AS 175bn
Holocaust survivors are still owed between $115 billion and $175 billion in restitution despite six
decades of efforts to return everything the Nazis stole, from their homes to businesses, according
to a new study.
In the last decade, restitution efforts intensified due to the end of the Cold War, as well as public
pressure spurred by new reports of the extent of Nazi looting and an uproar over efforts by Swiss
banks to conceal victim accounts, said the study's author, international economist Sidney
Zabludoff.
During the entire post-war period, only about 20 percent of the assets looted from Europe's Jews
was returned, he said. Restitution is a complicated task because the Nazis were such thorough
looters. And many of the people who survived the Holocaust, which killed 6 million of their
relatives and friends, lost all ownership records.
The study was prepared for Jerusalem-based Jewish Political Studies Review.
Extracts from an article published 18 January 18, 2007 by Reuters
ARIEH AND ESTHER – A sabbatical in Hobart
Arieh and Esther Levi, a very warm and friendly couple from Israel, have recently returned to Israel
after living in Hobart in the leafy suburb of Taroona for a whole year. Esther is an accountant and
Arieh is a professor of plant genetics working on medicinal and aromatic plants. In the past he bred
special varieties that have established the paprika industry. Paprika is a plant that can be used as a
spice, a natural source of red dye in the food as well as in the cosmetic industries.
Arieh is working at the Volcanic Institute for Agricultural Research in Israel and came to Hobart on a
sabbatical leave as a visiting scientist at the University of Tasmania. The reason he came to
Tasmania was the poppy plant, or rather, a special kind of poppy plant from which anti-addiction
substances are produced. "On my sabbatical I participated in a research that studied the
physiological and genetic aspects of the poppy and the influence of environmental factors, such as
temperatures and day length, on the flowering and content of the alkaloids in this poppy."
This research is only possible in Tasmania, since poppies are grown on a large scale in this country.
Tasmania produces 40% of morphinan substances (morphine, codeine and thebaine.)
"The poppy I work with does not have any morphine and the main substance in it is thebaine, which is
a precursor from which substances called Bu prenorphine and naloxone used in treatment of drug
addiction, are produced. We managed to advance the research significantly – at the moment it is not
grown anywhere in the world- and if it succeeds this poppy will be grown in Tasmania."
How do you sum up the year in Tasmania?
"The past year has been most interesting. We found a warm, varied and active Jewish community.
Even at the end of the world people are striving to preserve their Jewish heritage. We became very
attached to everyone. We enjoyed Tasmania’s landscapes, the comfortable climate and the
peaceful and secure atmosphere. Tasmanians are kind and pleasant, open, patient and welcoming.
No one is in a hurry and people are not especially materialistic. We also noticed the Tasmanian
patriotism and the Tasmanian pride in their state."
Michal Golebowicz
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