WWII, war crimes and crimes against humanity: Italy set up a fund
for the compensation of damage

We would like to inform all members of the Italian Jewish Communities that the new Decree-Law no. 36 of 30/04/2022, has set up a fund by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance for the compensation of damage suffered on Italian territory or in any case to the detriment of Italian citizens by the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the infringement of inviolable human rights committed by the Third Reich during the Second World War, in the period between 1 September 1939 and 8 May 1945.

The Fund is established in continuity with the Agreement between the Italian Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany on 14 April 1962, no. 1263. The Decree-Law, as per rule, must be converted into law within the prescribed sixty days and is therefore submitted to the Italian Parliament for examination.

Why this new Fund
The Fund, with a total capacity of approximately 56 million euros and operational allocations until 2026, has been established essentially as a diplomatic solution to a complex and tormented decades-long legislative and judicial affair. It was in fact set up for the failure to settle the sums assessed in favour of plaintiff victims of Nazi massacres who did not have access to funds paid by Germany on the basis of agreements with the Claims Commission or other international agreements. This was due to Germany’s invocation of immunity from jurisdiction before the courts of the countries where the crimes occurred.

Who is entitled to access the Fund
I. Those who have already won a case against Germany
Those who have obtained a final judgment concerning the assessment and liquidated damages as a result of legal proceedings already brought in the past are entitled to access the Fund.
II. Those who have never brought a case against Germany
The Degree-Law also provides, in Article 43 para. 6, that the actions not yet initiated at the date of implementation of the decree of ascertainment and liquidation of such damage, may be brought, under penalty of forfeiture, within thirty days from the same date. The introductory documents relating to such judgments must be notified to the Italian Attorney General’s Offices. Therefore, for those who have never taken any action to obtain compensation yet, the possibility to introduce new legal proceedings categorically within the time limit of 30 May 2022 has been planned. Those may be settled through this Fund within the limits of its capacity in the event of the application being accepted and a favourable final judgement.

Clarifications requested by the UCEI
The Union of the Italian Jewish Communities, in the few days following the issuing of the Decree-Law, has discussed in depth with professionals and experts of the subject, with parallel representative associations and the relevant governmental institutions the reasons that led to the establishment of the compensatory fund, the conditions and the likelihood of accessing the Fund, the nature of the alleged damage, the cumulation with other compensations and the limits of forfeiture of what is provided for in the legal text. Moreover, UCEI is taking the appropriate steps so that when the Decree is converted into law, not only will the many interpretative doubts be clarified, but, above all, the deadline of 30 May 2022 for the activation of the new judicial actions will be extended. This makes it in fact impossible to carry out such important acts, which presuppose very delicate evaluations, which we – like many others – contested as unlawful and deeply damaging to the dignity of the victims, to Italian Judaism and of any coherence related to the commitment on the theme of remembrance.
In any case, we would like to point out that these are lawsuits to claim compensation for damages that each plaintiff will be able to and must prove and quantify independently. Contrary to the provisions on merit, there is no provision for a unitary amount that victims can access by right with administrative procedures such as those provided for the Claims Conference or the compensation of the MEF provided under the “Terracini law”.

How to request access to the Fund
Interested parties may initiate the proceedings by contacting their lawyer, in which they must necessarily include the following information: – Credentials and detailed data of the persecuting acts suffered by Germany – Evidence of the heir’s position if it is the family members who take action. You may contact our offices at segreteria@ucei.it for any further clarification.

Translation by Maria Cianciuolo, revised by Alice Pugliese, students at the Secondary School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche