IF YOU OR YOUR JEWISH RELATIVES HAD PROPERTY THAT WAS CONFISCATED, LOOTED OR FORCIBLY SOLD DURING THE HOLOCAUST ERA, YOU COULD BE ENTITLED TO PARTICIPATE IN PROJECT HEART

Welcome to the official website of Project HEART, the Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce. The purpose of Project HEART is to help individuals with restitution for property that was confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold during the era of the Shoah.

The first step in this process is to identify those individuals who lost property during that period and to encourage them to file the Questionnaire. This website contains the information you need to determine if you or someone you know qualifies for participation in Project HEART and whether any confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold property might be eligible for potential restitution. By following the step-by-step instructions, this website will guide you through the steps required to submit the Questionnaire and begin your application process. This website also describes the types and locations of property included and excluded from Project HEART and provides additional information and deadlines.

Project HEART is a nonprofit initiative of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), funded by and in cooperation with the Government of Israel.

The primary focus of Project HEART at this stage is identifying individuals who may have potential claims regarding property. To be eligible, the claimed property must meet ALL of the following criteria:

1. The property was located in countries that were controlled by the Nazi forces or Axis powers at any time during the Holocaust era.
2. The property belonged to Jewish persons as defined by Nazi or Axis racial laws.
3. The property was confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold by the Nazi forces or Axis powers during the Holocaust era.
4. No restitution was received for that property after the Holocaust era.

The ultimate aim of Project HEART is to provide the tools, strategy, and information that will enable the Government of Israel, Project HEART, and its partners to secure a measure of justice for eligible Jewish victims and their heirs—and for the Jewish people.

Project HEART seeks to reach eligible persons, Jewish Holocaust victims and their heirs worldwide, who or whose families owned movable, immovable, or intangible personal property that was confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold in countries governed or occupied by the Nazi forces or Axis powers during the Holocaust era.

WHAT PROPERTIES ARE ELIGIBLE?

Eligible properties for Project HEART include private properties of all kinds:

1. IMMOVABLE PROPERTY, an item of property that cannot be moved without destroying or altering it. This includes items of real estate such as developed land, including any buildings on it, and land without buildings.
2. MOVABLE PROPERTY, any property that can be moved from one location to another. This may include art, Judaica, livestock, professional tools, precious metals, precious stones, jewelry, and other movable property.
3. INTANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY, personal property that cannot actually be moved, touched, or felt but instead represents something of value. This may include negotiable instruments such as stocks, bonds, insurance policies, savings accounts, registered patents, dowry policies, and other intangible personal property. It may also include negative assets-debts and liabilities owed to the individual-such as outstanding loans and mortgages.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

In order to be eligible to submit the Questionnaire for Project HEART, an individual must fit these criteria:

1. The individual claimant must be a Jewish person who was subject to persecution under Nazi or Axis racial laws during the Holocaust era, OR an heir of such a person.
2. The individual or his/her Jewish relatives must have owned or have a claim to private immovable, movable, or intangible property that was both: (i) located in the countries governed or occupied by Nazi forces and Axis powers, and (ii) confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold during the Holocaust era.
3. No restitution was made for that property after the Holocaust era.

This website describes the procedure for submitting your information and participating in Project HEART. If you are eligible to participate, simply complete and file the Questionnaire found on this website. You may file the Questionnaire electronically via this website, fax it to the number listed in the CONTACT PROJECT HEART section of this website, e-mail it to [email protected], or mail it by First-Class Mail to the address listed in the CONTACT PROJECT HEART section of this website.

WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE?

Individuals will not be considered if their property was located in areas including, but not restricted to:

1. Regions and territories governed or controlled by the former Soviet Union prior to August 23, 1939.
2. Regions and territories governed, controlled by, or allied with Imperial Japan.

QUESTIONNAIRES MUST BE SUBMITTED TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING ADDRESSES:

QUESTIONNAIRES CAN ALSO BE SUBMITTED ONLINE VIA THIS WEBSITE

E-MAILED TO [email protected]

OR FAXED TO: 02-5605034

The Project Administrator will mail you a postcard confirming receipt and providing a tracking number. The confirmation will be mailed as soon as the Questionnaire is processed.