In a significant ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a long-standing lawsuit filed by Holocaust survivors seeking compensation from Hungary for property seized during World War II. The decision, made on Friday, marks a severe setback for the survivors and their families, who have pursued justice for more than a decade.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2010, aimed to hold Hungary accountable for the confiscation of property from Jewish individuals during the Nazi era. The justices overturned an appeals court ruling that had previously allowed the case to proceed, citing that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act generally protects sovereign nations like Hungary from being sued in U.S. courts.
During hearings in December, the court considered arguments from survivors, many of whom are now over 90 years old, regarding Hungary’s alleged misuse of property proceeds. The survivors contended that Hungary had sold off the confiscated property, mixed the proceeds with its general funds, and subsequently utilized that money to purchase military equipment and issue bonds in the U.S.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who authored the court’s opinion, stated that merely demonstrating a “commingling theory” was insufficient to meet the legal requirements for the lawsuit to proceed. The court has sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, although the future of the lawsuit remains uncertain.
This ruling follows a previous Supreme Court decision in 2021, which favored Germany in a related case concerning the Guelph Treasure, making it more challenging for Holocaust-related property claims to be litigated in U.S. courts.
The lawsuit sought to represent all Hungarian Holocaust survivors and the families of victims, highlighting the role of the Hungarian railway in the deportation of over 400,000 Jews to Auschwitz in 1944.
As the survivors continue to seek justice, this ruling underscores the complexities surrounding sovereign immunity and the legal challenges faced by those pursuing accountability for historical atrocities.
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