ZAGREB, Croatia — A US court has rejected a suit filed by victims of Croatia’s pro-Nazi WWII regime and their relatives who were seeking $3.5 billion (2.9 billion euros) in damages, Croatian authorities said Friday.
The group wanted compensation from the Croatian government for property seized from ethnic Serbs, Roma and Jews during the war.
A Chicago court rejected Thursday the suit launched in 2016 after four hearings held to “discuss formal prerequisites to conduct the proceedings,” a Croatian foreign ministry statement read.
A memorial plaque with an Ustasha pro-Nazi slogan is pictured after it was moved from the vicinity of the WWII extermination camp of Janesovac, to a Croatian memorial site near Novska on September 7, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)
Croatia is not the legal heir to the wartime Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and as such cannot be held responsible for its crimes, it added.
Croatia’s wartime Nazi-allied Ustasha regime persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
After World War II and the collapse of the pro-Nazi regime, Croatia became part of the communist Yugoslavia.
It declared its independence in 1991 at the start of the federation’s bloody break-up.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this