Colo. Nature Group Gets Reparations for Nazi Victim

How much: $54,000

Who gave it: The National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, a commission established by the Austrian government in 1995 to compensate survivors of Nazi violence.

Who got it: The Rocky Mountain Nature Association, in Estes Park, Colo.

How the gift came about: The money comes from a claim filed on behalf of Edith London, who was sent to work for the Nazis as an accountant.

Ms. London moved to Denver in 1952 with her husband, John, because the Rocky Mountains reminded them of Austria. Five years before she died in 2007 at the age of 89, she called the nature association to donate her husband’s photographic equipment, and struck up a friendship with the organization’s executive director, Curt Buchholtz. She gave the charity gifts of $500 from time to time, but Mr. Buchholtz had no idea of her wealth due to her modest way of life. She bequeathed the bulk of her estate, an estimated $3.2-million, to the organization.

This month the charity received an extra gift—the $54,000 the victims’ fund declared that Ms. London was owed. It said because she had no other living heirs, it wanted to support her favorite cause.

Says Mr. Buchholtz: “We were so proud to be part of this process that links us back to Edith’s family and their sufferings and their loss during World War II.”

See our searchable database of gifts of $1-million or more, including new donations of $40-million to Saint Joseph’s College, $30-million to Tufts University, and $25.5-million to the University of Pennsylvania, at http://philanthropy.com/extras.