“We have committed the irreparable... Women, men and a child fled to us... We did not protect them as was our responsibility... they had come to us seeking refuge, thinking they had found a neutral welcome... To say this today is to recognize a fact. To say it today, at this place and in front of you, is to request a pardon.”

Jerusalem, 24 January 2020

On the sidelines of the “5th World Holocaust Forum" in Jerusalem, attended by representatives of 49 states, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre and the Principality of Monaco met to discuss cooperation.

The Centre’s Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, noted “its campaign to gain access to the Holocaust-related archives and belated indemnification to survivors and families of the victims, deported from Monaco.”

At their meeting, State Minister of Monaco, Serge Telle, showed an open door policy in offering access relating to the Centre’s areas of concern, including:
- Seizure of valuables;
- Blocked bank accounts and deposit boxes;
- Theft of art objects, book collections, musical instruments, etc.;
- Auction sales of Jewish assets and properties;
- Indemnification for spoliation and “aryanization” of businesses...

Shimon Samuels with Serge Telle.

State Minister Telle encouraged the Wiesenthal Centre "to appoint a professional researcher to begin, hopefully in March 2020, the identification of related materials,” stated Samuels.

The Centre emphasized that “this project will help to provide a long awaited closure for the families of victims and for Monte Carlo to render its moral debt to history.”

The State Minister declared: “We have committed the irreperable... Women, men and a child fled to us... We did not protect them as was our responsibility... they had come to us seeking refuge, thinking they had found a neutral welcome... To say this today is to recognize a fact. To say it today, at this place and in front of you, is to request pardon.”