Israeli report sets Holocaust damages as high as $330B News
Israeli report sets Holocaust damages as high as $330B

[JURIST] The Israeli government [official website] has released a report setting material damages to the Jewish people during the Holocaust [Wikipedia profile] between $240 billion and $330 billion. The report is the first of its kind, including not only the value of looted Jewish property but also lost income and wages, as well as unpaid wages from forced Jewish labor. The report estimates the value of plundered Jewish property at current prices to be $125 billion, the loss of income at $104 billion to $155 billion, and unpaid wages of forced laborers at $11 billion to $52 billion. Aharon Mor, a Finance Ministry official who headed the committee which published the report, said they used extrapolations of information drawn from more than 100 sources and did no original research in compiling the report. Studies indicate only 20 percent of stolen Jewish assets has been returned. The report called on countries to implement special legislation to speed up restitution to survivors. AP has more and Haaretz has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.