Latvian parliament returns seized buildings to Jewish community as restitution

The legislation from the Latvian parliament states that Jewish property restitution must redress the historical injustice suffered by the Latvian Jewish people and organizations in Latvia during the Holocaust and under the Soviet rule.

Three properties will be initially returned as restitution, one in the Latvian capital Riga, another in the seaside resort of Jurmala and the final property in the western town of Kandava.

Before World War II, Latvia’s Jewish population numbered 90,000 but 65,000 were murdered in the Nazi Holocaust, with almost all Jewish property subsequently confiscated and nationalised under Soviet rule.