German land annexed by the Dutch during WWII is returned to Germany.

It was a time when Germany was divided – West Germany remaining a Democracy, and East Germany becoming part of the Soviet Union. At the end of WWII a lot of German land had been ceased by a number of countries, including superpowers America and Russia.

On this day April 8th, in 1960, the Dutch return land to Germany. The official transfer took place in 1963. The total cost for West Germany was 280 Million German marks. The areas returned to Germany were: Elten, Selfkant, and Suderwick.

Wiedergutmachung was the German word for those reparations. In this case it was meant specifically for those who had endured the Holocaust and been in the work camps. Around 40% of the claims for these reparations came from Israel, where many Holocaust survivors went after the war.