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| Monaco sued over WWII compensations
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Prince Albert of Monaco
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A Belgian Jew whose relatives were deported from Monaco in 1944 has filed a complaint against the principality, in the first case of its kind.
Jean Geismar, 75, from the Belgian town of Ottignies has been fighting for the past 10 years for Monaco to recognize its involvement in the deportation of Jews, and in particular that of his uncle and aunt. On Monday an official legal complaint was finally filed with the Monaco authorities.
Albert Samdam and Alice Goughengheim, Geismar’s relatives, left Belgium after the German invasion in 1941. Before they arrived in Monaco, they sold a building for the equivalent of 1.4 million euros (1.4 million Belgium francs at the time).
In March 1944, after three years of residency in Monaco, they were arrested and sent to Drancy, the French transit camp. From there, they were sent to Auschwitz and never came back.
In Drancy, the police chief noted in an official document, which is now on display in the Shoah Museum in Paris, that the couple was in possession of various valuable objects and receipts from a Monaco bank. A list was established detailing the different stocks and accounts deposited in Monaco.
Monaco’s ignorance of its past
“My lawyers have announced on Friday, on the International Day commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, that a complaint will be filed, and it was done this morning,” Geismar told EJP on Monday.
 Documents show that money from Monegasque bank accounts was invested in the Luftwaffe
Jean Geismar | After ten years of research and requests for information, in September 2005, Geismar sent a letter to the principality’s state Minister Jean-Paul Proust and to the speaker of the Parliament asking Monaco to pay compensations.
“A month later, Proust replied to my letter talking about the ‘so called’ attitude of Monaco,” Geismar said, pointing out that the collaboration between Monaco and the Nazis could not be proved.
“This letter outraged me because several documents attached to my letter, documents which were provided to me by the Paris Holocaust Museum, proved the collaboration between the principality and the third Reich. Documents show that money from Monegasque bank accounts was invested in the Luftwaffe, the German air force,” Geismar added.
“Duty of memory”
For Christian Dailliet, Geismar’s Belgium lawyer, the process to get compensations moved into a new phase on Monday.
“It is the first time that a complaint has been filed against Monaco,” Daillet said.
Monaco has to fulfil its ‘Duty of Memory’ and look back into its past and admit its collaboration with the Nazis. Many European countries have accomplished their obligation and Monaco has yet to carry it out
Christian Daillet | Explaining how the process will work, he said: “We are taking action in two different ways. First, Monaco never set up a process for heirs of deported Jews to claim their ancestor belongings. This is a state breach,” because according to the Council of Europe legislation, member states ought to set up such a process.
“For this first point my client requests from Monaco to pay him back damages,” Dailliet pointed out.
“Monaco is a member state of the Council of Europe since October 2004 and our request is based on the European convention for the safeguard of Human Rights, which is in other words, international law”
“Secondly, Monaco has to fulfil its ‘Duty of Memory’ and look back into its past and admit its collaboration with the Nazis. Many European countries have accomplished their obligation and Monaco has yet to carry it out,” Dailliet added.
“We want the judge to tell the authorities to publicly acknowledge their responsibility in the deportation of Jews living in Monaco.”
Prince Albert, has recently stressed on numerous occasions the need for further transparency regarding the principality’s past, especially during WWII. Dailliet hopes that this will translate in a clear and unequivocal acknowledgement from the authorities.
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