More than 400,000 Jews from Hungary were transported by railway to the Auschwitz death camp in German-occupied Poland during a period of two months in 1944.
In 2010, survivors of the Holocaust and family members of Holocaust victims filed a lawsuit against Hungary and its railway, as reported by the Associated Press.
For the second time, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on June 24, 2024, to intervene in the dispute. Survivors seek compensation for property confiscated during World War II.
In court proceedings in fall 2024, Supreme Court justices will hear arguments in hopes of ending the lawsuit. Survivors involved in the lawsuit, who are now more than 90 years old, and heirs of survivors will testify. Some survived Auschwitz in Poland.
However, an issue is whether an American court is the proper venue. Sovereign nations, including Hungary, are protected from lawsuits in U.S. courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Exceptions are made for lawsuits regarding property that was taken in violation of international law.
Justices sided with Germany in a multimillion-dollar case in 2021 about a collection of religious artworks known as the Guelph Treasure. The decision in that case encouraged justices who heard the Hungary case to return it to the appeals court in Washington, D.C. The appeals court refused to dismiss all claims.
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Rebecca Barnabi
