The ‘Aryanization’ of Jewish Property in Amsterdam and Its Consequences After World War II

In the spring of 2013 the Dutch newspaper Het Parool published an article that had a significant impact. It reported that immediately after World War II, when Jewish citizens returned to Amsterdam from concentration camps or from hiding, the municipal authorities of the time had levied fines on them for ground lease fees that had remained unpaid during the war. The revelation that the civil administration had acted in this way sparked a debate on whether the treatment of returning Jewish citizens in Amsterdam had been just and morally acceptable. At the very start of the debate, the mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, stated that he would pay back every penny that could be considered unjustly levied. With this decision, a new chapter has been added to the policies of restitution in the Netherlands: it is the first time that a local government has accepted financial responsibility for the spoliation of the Dutch Jews.