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Praise for Serbia’s Leadership on Holocaust Restitution Issues
3 MINUTE READ
July 31, 2020

 

Serbia has demonstrated leadership in addressing the terrible legacy of the Holocaust.   We are proud to have been a partner with Serbia in providing justice for victims.

  • On February 24, Serbia adopted a law funding Serbia’s first Holocaust memorial complex, to be established at the site of the former concentration camp at Staro Sajmiste.  The law also extended protection to the site of another camp at Topovske Supe.
  • The Serbian government’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism on February 26 is an essential starting point for combating Holocaust denial.

In a joint press release, Senators Marco Rubio and Tammy Baldwin issued that highlighted the fact that Serbia remains the only country to have enacted a Holocaust-related property restitution law following the 2009 Terezin Declaration.  (See https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/7/rubio-and-baldwin-welcome-state-department-report-on-helping-holocaust-survivors-and-their-families-receive-justice.)  The two Senators issued this statement after the U.S. State Department published the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act Report on July 29th. (See https://www.state.gov/release-of-the-just-act-report/).

Taking these steps, Serbia is poised to establish itself as a regional leader on Holocaust memorialization and restitution issues.