Immovable Property Review Conference
November 26–28, 2012, Prague
As part of continued efforts to right injustices committed during the Holocaust, the Immovable Property Review Conference (IPRC) took place on November 26–28, 2012 at Prague’s Czernin Palace. The European Shoah Legacy Institute, in close cooperation with the Forum 2000 Foundation, organized the event under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Partners of the conference were Prague City Hall and Czech Radio.
The conference built on the results of earlier such meetings and the outcomes, including the Terezín Declaration, the Joint Declaration of the European Commission and 2009 Czech European Council Presidency and the 2010 Restitution Guidelines. Such agreements have outlined parameters for future Holocaust education and research, promoting social care for survivors, preserving memorials and other sites of memory, provenance research into looted art, continued trans-border cooperation and information exchange, as well as the exchange of best practices.
Representatives of the 41 countries which have endorsed the Terezín Declaration, experts and representatives from various international organizations attended the conference and reflected on progress achieved by the committed countries in their respective fields in recent years. They also shared their progress reports, lessons learned and best practices, and recommended future steps. Former U.S. Diplomat Stuart Eizenstat, Israeli MP and Holocaust survivors Colette Avital, Felix Kolmer and Ben Helfgott were among the featured speakers. Specific topics included discussions on religious and communal property, private property, economic issues, the role of the media and public perception, as well as the role played by international institutions in the restitution process.
Photogallery
Conference Outcomes
Concluding Statement
Press Releases
December 3, 2012
November 28, 2012
November 26, 2012