UNITED KINGDOM The Enemy Property Claims Assessment Panel (EPCAP) The EPCAP maintains a Web site containing a database of more than 30,000 records relating to property seized between 1939 and 1945 that originally belonged to residents of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The database also includes records of persons from other countries and persons who could not be traced. In March 1999, the EPCAP launched a payment scheme for victims of Nazi persecution whose assets were confiscated in the United Kingdom. It has received and assessed claims from across the world, paying out more than 7 million pounds. Final claims will be accepted until August 31, 2004; after this date claims will be assessed on an ad-hoc basis. Contact: Enemy Property Claims Assessment Panel Room 116-118 1 Victoria Street London SW1H OET United Kingdom Telephone: +44 207 215 3486 or +44 207 215 2268 Fax: +44 207 215 3487 E-mail: janette.plumridge@dti.gsi.gov.uk or chris.vanbeck@dti.gsi.gov.uk http://www.enemyproperty.gov.uk The Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) The United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth Office hosted the December 1997 London Conference on Nazi Gold. The Bank of England Archive The bank has an extensive archive that contains records of every aspect of its administration from the bank’s foundation to the present. The bank’s archive may be used to trace wartime gold transactions. The archive provides research facilities for academics. Individuals seeking information about confiscated assets during World War II should consult with such organizations as Restore UK. Contact: The Archivist Archive Section HO-SV The Bank of England Threadneedle Street London EC2R 8AH United Kingdom E-mail: archive@bankofengland.co.uk http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/archive.htm Restore UK Restore UK is a central agency established by the British banking industry to handle claims relating to accounts frozen under World War II legislation. Its objective is to help reunite Holocaust victims or their heirs with any money in bank accounts that has been unclaimed since World War II. Restore UK is an agency of the British Bankers’ Association. Contact: Restore UK Pinners Hall 105-108 Old Broad Street London EC2N 1EX United Kingdom Telephone: +44 20 7216 8908 Fax: + 44 20 7216 8916 E-mail: restore@restoreuk.org.uk http://www.restoreuk.org.uk National Museum Directors’ Conference (NMDC) In June 1998, the National Museum Directors’ Conference established a working group to examine the issues surrounding the spoliation of art during the Holocaust and World War II period. The NMDC also drew up a Statement of Principles and proposed actions for member institutions. The statement was finalized and adopted by the NMDC in November 1998. Recommendations included a proposal that each national museum, gallery, or library draw up an action plan setting out its planned approach to research the issue of provenance. The NMDC’s reports as well as lists of works of art whose provenance is being sought can be found on its Web site at http://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk Contact: National Museum Directors' Conference Imperial War Museum Lambeth Road London SE1 5HZ United Kingdom Fax: +44 020 7416 5485 E-mail: nmdc@iwm.org.uk Association of Jewish Refugees in Great Britain/Central Office for Holocaust Claims The Central Office for Holocaust Claims was established and is funded by six charities that represent Holocaust survivors and refugees in the United Kingdom. The claims office coordinates restitution and compensation inquiries, campaigns for financial assistance for Holocaust victims, and provides up-to-date advice and assistance on restitution and compensation issues including pensions, dormant bank accounts, unpaid insurance policies, slave labor compensation, appropriated property, and looted art. Contact: Michael Newman, Director Central Office for Holocaust Claims (UK) C/O AJR Jubilee House Merrion Avenue Stanmore Middlesex HA7 4RL Telephone: +44 20 8385 3074 Fax: +44 20 8385 3075 E-mail: michael@ajr.org.uk http://www.ajr.org.uk/claims.htm The Holocaust Educational Trust Established in 1988, the Holocaust Educational Trust has commissioned research into the following issues: the banking industry in Britain during the Nazi occupation, Britain and postwar art restitution, the fate of assets in Britain of Holocaust victims and survivors, and Nazi gold issues. These reports may be purchased from the Holocaust Educational Trust directly. Contact: Karen Pollock, Director The Holocaust Educational Trust BCM Box 7892 London WC1N 3XX United Kingdom Telephone: + 44 20 7222 6822 Fax: +44 20 7233 0161 E-mail: info@het.org.uk http://het.org.uk/ Conferences The United Kingdom participated in the London Conference on Nazi Gold. The United Kingdom participated in the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets. Proceedings of the Washington Conference can be found at http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/holocaust/heac.html The United Kingdom participated in the Vilnius International Forum on Holocaust Era Looted Cultural Assets. Proceedings of the Vilnius Forum can be found at http://www.vilniusforum.lt/proceedings/index.htm