The Supreme Court rejected a request from the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki to repeal an Appeal Court decision, which had rejected the community’s demand for reparations over funds extracted during the Occupation.
Specifically, the Jewish Community demanded that the German state returns 150,000 French gold francs, 38 million German marks and 50 million drachmas (146,735 euros) for damages suffered. These funds were taken by the Nazi authorities in order to exempt 2,000 Jews in Thessaloniki from forced labor, however most of them perished when were sent to concentration camps in Poland.
The Supreme Court held that in accordance with International Law and the decision of the Special Supreme Court (related to the Distomo case), the German State enjoys an extraterritorial immunity and as such, the Greek courts do not have the jurisdiction to examine the Jewish Community’s case. As such, the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki will have to address the German courts.
