Bewindvoerders in de klem

Het moeizame Nederlandse rechtsherstel van Joodse oorlogstegoeden (1944-1952)

Abstract

For decades, the prevailing image of the post-war restoration process of Jewish assets in the Netherlands was based on more general accounts. Personal files from the responsible Dutch institution, the Nederlandse Beheersinstituut (Dutch Custody Institute), were made public in 2018. Based on an analysis of 600 files of Jewish ‘absentees’, this article provides important new insights into how the restoration process from 1944 until 1952 looked in practice and to what extent it was adequate. The research shows that the designated administrators undertook their duties to the best of their ability and that the NBI supervised the process. At the same time, it proved to be remarkably difficult for administrators to recover assets. They received limited support from the nbi or other authorities. The attitude of the NBI towards the administrators was distant, rigid, bureaucratic, and focused on legality. This confirms the lack of recognition experienced by the Jewish community in the immediate post-war years.