Restitution deal signed for Holocaust victims

LUXEMBOURG » The Luxembourg government signed a deal Wednesday to restitute dormant bank accounts, insurance policies and looted art to Holocaust survivors.

The agreement announced on International Holocaust Remembrance Day will provide financial resources to promote remembrance, education and research of the Holocaust in Luxembourg, a small European country with a population of about 630,000.

The deal was also signed by the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the Jewish community of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah.

“The agreement today is a profound statement by Luxembourg of its abiding commitment to preserving the memory of Jews who were persecuted and murdered during the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg,” said Gideon Taylor, operations chair of the World Jewish Restitution Organization.

Under the deal, the government agreed to purchase and renovate a memorial to Jews who were sent to death camps from Luxembourg. The Cinqfontaines memorial, which is located near the site where Jews were assembled and deported, will be transformed into a “place to memorialize Holocaust victims and to educate future generations,” the organization said.

The Nazis occupied Luxembourg in May 1940. About 2,000 Luxembourg Jews were killed during the Holocaust.