SA henchmen raided Simson Cohen’s property at Hoher Graben 2 in Hagen (Volme Haus, NRW) in the 1930s, demolished the furniture, threw the piano into the Volme , shot the dog and brutally beat up Simson Cohen. He then had to flee with his family to Bern in Switzerland, where he died of his injuries from the attack. The property at Hoher Graben 2 was taken over by the city of Hagen (expropriation) and sold to private individuals through straw men.

Due to the Allied military laws, after the end of the Second World War, the compensation office of the city of Hagen conducted negotiations with the heirs of Simson Cohen regarding compensation for the expropriated property. The heirs were represented by the Jewish community of Dortmund. However, a legally valid settlement was not reached; the necessary written approval from the Hagen city council is still missing today. The leading historian of the city of Hagen was also unable to help in this regard. In addition, there is no evidence that the compensation has been paid to the heirs. The descendant of Simson Cohen, who lives in Switzerland, will therefore file an action for information in order to find out whether the written consent of the city council has been obtained.

Another legal case pending before the Higher Regional Court of Hamm (NRW) concerns the expropriation of the bank balance of Arthur Levy, son-in-law of Simson Cohen, at the then Sparkasse Hagen during the Nazi era in the 1930s (now Sparkasse an Volme und Ruhr). Both Simson Cohen and Arthur Levy had a bank account at Sparkasse Hagen. Simson Cohen also had a securities account, which was also expropriated. This legal case is also linked to the study on dormant assets (Social Impact Fund) commissioned by the German government. It shows that the German savings banks have not sufficiently fulfilled their obligation to keep records of dormant assets (so-called “dormant accounts”); all communication channels must be used by a bank to locate descendants of account holders who are entitled to inherit. It can be assumed that there are still several billion euros in “dormant accounts” in Germany. However, Sparkasse Hagen (zu Volme und Ruhr) has never made any inquiries about possible descendants of Arthur Levy who could make claims to the account balance. Even after being contacted by the descendant of Arthur Levy, the Sparkasse an Volme und Ruhr made no effort to enter into discussions with the descendant.

In connection with the aforementioned study on dormant assets, there are currently attempts by the savings banks under the Freedom of Information Act (IFG) NRW to no longer have to report on personal accounts. However, the experts consulted reject these amendments to the IFG NRW.

The case of Simson Cohen and Arthur Levy shows emphatically that National Socialist injustice must always be justiciable and that the German state still has a duty to carry out educational work in connection with the expropriation of Jewish assets. Justice has no expiry date.

The Federal Republic of Germany has always attached particular priority to making moral and financial reparations for the injustices committed by the Nazi regime. Words must now be followed by deeds.