DOCSLIB.ORG

Property Restitution in Central and Eastern Europe: the State of Affairs for American Claimants

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Property Restitution in Central and Eastern Europe: the State of Affairs for American Claimants PROPERTY RESTITUTION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: THE STATE OF AFFAIRS FOR AMERICAN CLAIMANTS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 16, 2002 Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe [CSCE 10727] Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.csce.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 2003 84901.PDF For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 5121800 Fax: (202) 5122250 Mail Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 204020001 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado Co-Chairman Chairman FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas ZACH WAMP, Tennessee GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio STENY H. HOYER, Maryland CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland BOB GRAHAM, Florida LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New York RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS LORNE W. CRANER, Department of State JACK DYER CROUCH II, Department of Defense WILLIAM HENRY LASH III, Department of Commerce (ii) PROPERTY RESTITUTION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: THE STATE OF AFFAIRS FOR AMERICAN CLAIMANTS TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2002 COMMISSIONERS PAGE Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chairman ..................................................... 1 Hon. Joseph R. Pitts, Commissioner ............................................................... 3 Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Commissioner ...................................................... 3 Hon. Joseph Crowley, Member of Congress .................................................... 5 Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Commissioner ............................................. 11 WITNESSES Randolph M. Bell, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, U.S. Department of State ............................................................................ 7 Israel Singer, President, Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany and Co-Chairman, World Jewish Restitution Organization ............................................................................................. 23 Yehuda Evron, U.S. President, Holocaust Restitution Committee .............. 26 Mark Meyer, Chairman, Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce ...... 30 Olga Jonas, Secretary, Free Czechoslovakia Fund ....................................... 32 APPENDICES Prepared Statement of Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Chairman .......... 41 Prepared Statement of Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton ................................ 42 Prepared Statement of Hon. Steny H. Hoyer, Ranking Member ................. 44 Prepared Statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin ....................................... 45 Prepared Statement of Hon. Gary L. Ackerman, Member of Congress ...... 47 Materials Submitted by Randolph Bell: Prepared Statement of Randolph M. Bell ............................................. 49 Summary of Property Restitution in Central and Eastern Europe ..... 53 Questions Submitted for the Record to Randolph M. Bell ................... 66 Materials Submitted by Israel Singer: Prepared Statement of Israel Singer, .................................................... 70 Letter to Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher, from Members of Congress, April 10, 1995 .................................................... 81 World Jewish Congress Policy Dispatches No. 72, October 2001......... 82 Prepared Statement of Yehuda Evron .......................................................... 97 Prepared Statement of Mark Meyer ........................................................... 101 Materials Submitted by Olga Jonas: Prepared Statement of Olga Jonas ...................................................... 111 Proclamation ......................................................................................... 115 Other Materials Submitted for the Record Letter to His Excellency Aleksandr Kwasniewski, President, Republic of Poland, from Members of the Helsinki Commission, dated July 18, 2002 .............................................................................. 118 Republic of Lithuanias Property Restitution, 2002, by Gaila E. Klimas, President, International Democracy Action Council ............ 120 The Property Restitution Process in Macedonia, by the Association for Restitution of Private Property in Macedonia .......... 123 (iii) APPENDICES (CONTINUED) PAGE Restitution of Church and Communal Properties of the Hungarian Minority in Romania: Not Completed Yet, by the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation ................................................................................ 126 State of Property Restitution for American Claimants in Romania, by the Committee for Private Property ............................................... 132 Restitution of Private Forest Lands Stolen by Communist Regimes in Romania, by Ioan Caton Paltineanu, President, Paltin International, Inc. ................................................................................ 134 Written Statement of American Owners of Property in Slovenia ..... 136 (iv) PROPERTY RESTITUTION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: THE STATE OF AFFAIRS FOR AMERICAN CLAIMANTS JULY 16, 2002 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE WASHINGTON, DC The Commission met in Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC, at 2:00 p.m., Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chair- man, presiding. Commissioners present: Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chairman; Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton; Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin; and Hon. Joseph R. Pitts. Other Members present: Hon. Joseph Crowley. Witnesses present: Randolph M. Bell, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, U.S. Department of State; Yehuda Evron, U.S. President, Holo- caust Restitution Committee; Olga Jonas, Secretary, Free Czechoslova- kia Fund; Mark Meyer, Esq., Chairman, Romanian-American Cham- ber of Commerce; Israel Singer, President, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and Co-Chairman, World Jewish Restitution Organization. HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CO-CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE Mr. SMITH. The hearing will come to order. I want to welcome our very distinguished panelists who are here today. We will do a more proper introduction momentarily. During and after the Second World War, millions of people fled Cen- tral and Eastern Europe to escape Nazism and Communist persecu- tion. Most of them lost everything they and their families had and had built over generations including homes, businesses and artwork. In addition, totalitarian regimes seized tens of thousands of communal properties from religious and ethnic communities. For more than a decade now, post-Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe have struggled with the question of how to re- dress these wrongful confiscations of property. Since the early 1990s, the Helsinki Commission has monitored the property restitution and compensation efforts of post-Communist governments. I have person- ally raised concerns with officials of many countries regarding the need for nondiscriminatory laws that are faithfully implemented. Todays meeting is the third Helsinki Commission hearing to exam- ine these issues. 2 Central and Eastern European governments have done much regard- ing property restitution that is commendable. In particular, the return of communal properties to Jewish communities decimated during World War II have been undertaken to some extent in every country. Catho- lics and other religious congregations in the region have also been able to regain some of what they lost under atheistic Communist regimes. Many countries have also passed laws to govern the return of properties to individuals, which is no small achievement. Nonetheless, the Helsinki Commission continues to receive a steady stream of letters from individuals and organized groups pleading for assistance in their struggles to recover expropriated properties. The common thread in these letters is that, despite the laws enacted and the positive efforts made, these governments cannot bring themselves to part with most of the loot stolen by undemocratic predecessors. Governments seeking membership in Western institutions want to be perceived as reform governments by passing private property resti- tution laws, or by touting their efforts to return communal properties. Upon closer examination, however, one finds lackluster the implemen- tation of the laws, or exceptions to restitution which severely limit the properties that can be returned, or bureaucratic hurdles that govern- ments lodge before every person who actually makes a claim. Restitution laws are specifically undermined through discriminatory citizenship requirements, which often deny restitution or compensation to individuals who left the country under previous regimes. This has been the problem in Lithuania and Croatia, but is most stark in the Czech Republic where the citizenship requirement for restitution dis- criminates almost exclusively against individuals who lost their Czech citizenship because they chose the United States as their refuge from communism as opposed to any other country. The bilateral treaty that led to this loss of citizenship has not been enforced in the United States since the 1960s. Nevertheless, the Czech Republic
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to Pay
    JANUARY 2003 VOLUME 16 NUMBER 3 THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM TO PAY TRIBUTE TO HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN NOVEMBER 2003 WASHINGTON, DC--Once a dream for send a message to the American people preserved, will be open. There will be honor the living,and offer hope for the many survivors, The United States about the importance of remembrance for presentations about the photo archives, future. The ceremony will be broadcast live Holocaust Memorial Museum is now a the future. survivor programs on the Website and on the Website, where visitors can post reality that reaches millions of Americans curator-led tours of the Museum’s special messages of honor and remembrance. from all walks of life every year, with its A Unique Living Legacy exhibitions: Hidden Children and American mission of remembrance and education. “Survivors Day at the United States Responses to the Nazi Book Burnings will Remembrance and America The Museum approaches its 10th Holocaust Memorial Museum” be offered continuously. President George W. Bush and Prof. Elie Anniversary when the world still faces Wiesel will be invited to speak. There will be deadly dangers, and the lessons of the brief remarks prior to a candle-lit procession Holocaust become ever more critical. Now to the Hall of Remembrance, where there will more than before, the mission of the be a memorial candle-lighting. Museum becomes urgent. As a token of gratitude to the U.S., The Museum’s sacred obligation to survivors will present the President with A preserve and transmit the legacy of the Living Legacy, a one-of-a-kind book of survivors, and their enthusiastic support photographs of themselves and their and involvement with the survivors, has descendants, now in the fourth generation, made the Museum an extraordinary success.
    [Show full text]
  • A Nemzetiségi Kérdés Kossuth És Kortársai Szemében
    A nemzetiségi kérdés Kossuth és kortársai szemében BELVEDERE Kiskönyvtár 15. A nemzetiségi kérdés Kossuth és kortársai szemében KISKÖNYVTÁR 15. A nemzetiségi kérdés Kossuth és kortársai szemében Szerkesztette: Kiss Gábor Ferenc Zakar Péter BM#EDERE Szeged, 2003 A kötet megjelenését támogatták Nemzeti Kulturális Örökség Minisztériuma ^ y Oktatási Minisztérium Szegedi Tudományegyetem SZTE Juhász Gyula Tanárképző Főiskolai Kar SZTE JGYTFK HÖK SZTE EHÖK Kulturális Bizottság IV. Béla Kör Magyar Történelmi Társulat Csongrád megyei és Szegedi Csoportja Szegedért Alapítvány Szegedi Román Kisebbségi Önkormányzat Magyarországi Románok Országos Szövetsége NEMZETI KULTURÁLIS ÖRÖKSÉG MINISZTÉRIUMA Kossuth Emlékév Titkársága ! SZTE Egyetemi Könyvtár ISBN 963 8624 6 X ISSN 1217-3495 © Belvedere Méridionale, 2003 Beköszöntő Számtalan példa volt rá, hogy amikor Rákóczi kiáltványáról felelt a hallga- tó, a hangzatos fordítással - „Megújultanak a dicső magyar nemzet se- bei"-adta vissza a „Recrudescunt inclitae gentis Hungáriáé vulnera" kez- dő szavakat. Ilyenkor mindig ki kellett javítanom, hogy az eredetiben bizony másképpen van. Rákóczi ugyanis nagyon is tisztában volt az ország etnikai sokszínűségével, ezért választékosan és precízen fogalmazott, ami- kor Hungária „dicső népének" sebeiről beszélt. Ez a - középkorból jól adatolható, öntudatos - Hungarus szemlélet azonban a nemzetiségek „ön- tudatra" ébredésének időszakában elhalványult, sőt - egyesek szemében - teljesen korszerűtlenné vált. Erről a változásról azonban a magyar poli- tikusi garnitúra sem
    [Show full text]
  • Jews Control U.S.A., Therefore the World – Is That a Good Thing?
    Jews Control U.S.A., Therefore the World – Is That a Good Thing? By Chairman of the U.S. based Romanian National Vanguard©2007 www.ronatvan.com v. 1.6 1 INDEX 1. Are Jews satanic? 1.1 What The Talmud Rules About Christians 1.2 Foes Destroyed During the Purim Feast 1.3 The Shocking "Kol Nidre" Oath 1.4 The Bar Mitzvah - A Pledge to The Jewish Race 1.5 Jewish Genocide over Armenian People 1.6 The Satanic Bible 1.7 Other Examples 2. Are Jews the “Chosen People” or the real “Israel”? 2.1 Who are the “Chosen People”? 2.2 God & Jesus quotes about race mixing and globalization 3. Are they “eternally persecuted people”? 3.1 Crypto-Judaism 4. Is Judeo-Christianity a healthy “alliance”? 4.1 The “Jesus was a Jew” Hoax 4.2 The "Judeo - Christian" Hoax 4.3 Judaism's Secret Book - The Talmud 5. Are Christian sects Jewish creations? Are they affecting Christianity? 5.1 Biblical Quotes about the sects , the Jews and about the results of them working together. 6. “Anti-Semitism” shield & weapon is making Jews, Gods! 7. Is the “Holocaust” a dirty Jewish LIE? 7.1 The Famous 66 Questions & Answers about the Holocaust 8. Jews control “Anti-Hate”, “Human Rights” & Degraded organizations??? 8.1 Just a small part of the full list: CULTURAL/ETHNIC 8.2 "HATE", GENOCIDE, ETC. 8.3 POLITICS 8.4 WOMEN/FAMILY/SEX/GENDER ISSUES 8.5 LAW, RIGHTS GROUPS 8.6 UNIONS, OCCUPATION ORGANIZATIONS, ACADEMIA, ETC. 2 8.7 IMMIGRATION 9. Money Collecting, Israel Aids, Kosher Tax and other Money Related Methods 9.1 Forced payment 9.2 Israel “Aids” 9.3 Kosher Taxes 9.4 Other ways for Jews to make money 10.
    [Show full text]
  • Holocaust) Victims Was Carried out in Israel
    Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review Volume 41 Number 3 Article 19 Winter 2018 How Restitution of Property of Shoah (Holocaust) Victims was Carried Out in Israel Aharon Mor Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ilr Recommended Citation Aharon Mor, How Restitution of Property of Shoah (Holocaust) Victims was Carried Out in Israel, 41 Loy. L.A. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 617 (2019). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ilr/vol41/iss3/19 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FINAL TO JCI (DO NOT DELETE) 12/12/2018 6:32 PM Holocaust Restitution: Israel Model How Restitution of Property of Shoah (Holocaust) Victims was Carried Out in Israel DR. AHARON (ARON) MOR 70 years after the Holocaust, the Company for Location and Restitution of Shoah Victims’ Assets was established, with the aim of doing historical justice with victims by returning their assets to their lawful heirs, and at the same time use assets whose owners were not located for assistance to Shoah needy survivors and perpetuating the memory of the Shoah. 1 Israel Peleg A unique effort to restore the property of Holocaust (Shoah) 2 victims in Israel began in 2007 and ended in December 2017.3 This unique process resulted in the restitution of assets of Israeli new shekel (“NIS”) 718 million (US $ 190.2 million)4 to 2,811 legal heirs, and NIS Israeli activist, researcher and lecturer on restitution of Jewish property from the Holocaust (Shoah) era and from Arab countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Negevnow Negevnow
    1 NEGEVNOW PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2014 NEGEVNOW BGU BELIEVES THAT DEVELOPING THE NEGEV WILL DO MORE THAN JUST BENEFIT THE REGION. IT WILL STRENGTHEN ISRAEL AS A WHOLE AND BE A “LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS.” RANKED AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S TOP UNIVERSITIES UNDER 50 YEARS OLD, BGU ASPIRES TO BE A LEADING RESEARCH INSTITUTION THAT IMPACTS PEOPLE’S LIVES – THROUGH ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION, GROUND-BREAKING RESEARCH AND AN EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE. IN 2013, THE UNIVERSITY DOUBLED ITS PHYSICAL SIZE WITH THE ADDITION OF THE NEW NORTH CAMPUS. WITH THE OPENING OF THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES PARK AND THE MOVE OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES TO THE SOUTH, INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ARE LEVERAGING THE PROXIMITY TO BGU TO OPEN RESEARCH FACILITIES IN THE REGION. BGU IS REALIZING ITS MISSION, IMPROVING PEOPLE'S LIVES IN ISRAEL AND AROUND THE WORLD. THE NEGEV IS NOW NORTHERN NEGEV RAMOT NEIGHBORHOOD BEER-SHEVA ILLUSTRATION OF THE FUTURE NORTH CAMPUS MARCUS FAMILY CAMPUS TRAIN LINE NEGEVNOW PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2014 ILLUSTRATION OF FUTURE CONFERENCE CENTER ON THE NORTH CAMPUS From the Chairman 8 From the President 9 BGU by the Numbers 10 Senior Administration 14 Campus Construction 16 The Spark of Innovation 18 A Game-Changing Approach 20 A History of Change 22 Breaking the Glass Ceiling 24 International Academic Affairs 26 New and Noteworthy 29 Community Outreach 39 Student Life 44 Recognizing our Friends 49 Board of Governors 77 Associates Organizations 80 ALUMNINOW BGU ALUMNI CARE. THEY GET INVOLVED. THEY PURSUE THEIR PASSIONS. THEY WORK TO IMPROVE THEIR WORLD. WE SALUTE OUR ALUMNI WHO ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
    [Show full text]
  • Senate the Senate Met at 9:45 A.M
    E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 108 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 150 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2004 No. 109 Senate The Senate met at 9:45 a.m. and was U.S. SENATE, ple to come in late. In order to finish called to order by the Honorable LIN- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, the bill, especially as we want to pay COLN D. CHAFEE, a Senator from the Washington, DC, September 14, 2004. appropriate respect to the Jewish holi- State of Rhode Island. To the Senate: day tomorrow, I plead with our col- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby leagues that they come as soon as they PRAYER appoint the Honorable LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, a are notified there will be a vote. We The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Senator from the State of Rhode Island, to give everyone a heads-up when there fered the following prayer: perform the duties of the Chair. will be a vote. Come and vote and leave Let us pray. TED STEVENS, and efficiently use that time. O Lord, our rock, hear our praise President pro tempore. Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield? today, for Your faithfulness endures to Mr. CHAFEE thereupon assumed the Mr. FRIST. I am happy to yield for a all generations. You hear our prayers. chair as Acting President pro tempore. question. Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am so Surround us with Your mercy.
    [Show full text]
  • Course Syllabus: Minority Groups
    1 Course Syllabus: Minority Groups Mark Swiencicki, Ph.D. Office: Room 557, 5th floor, BCC); Ph: 510-981-2916; Sociology 5 (20530) Office Hours in Rm. 557: Mon. 4:20-5:20 pm; Wed. 12:20-1:20 pm; Tues 4:50- 5:50 pm; Digital/Online Office Hour: Thurs 11-12 pm; & 1 hour by appointment. Spring 2019 3 Credits Email address: [email protected] Satisfies: IGETC & CSU-GE breadth requirements for transfer to UCs/CSUs; UC Berkeley’s American Cultures Requirement, and the major requirements for BCC Sociology AA-T to CSU. Meeting Time/Place: Mon. and Weds: 3 - 4:15 pm, BCC 015 . Why take “Minority Groups”? Aside from the English, every group of U.S. immigrants has experienced some degree of exclusion or discrimination that temporarily (or permanently) transformed them into “minorities”. This course examines the ethnic experiences of those groups (and various religious, racial, gender and sexual minorities) to see how their experiences have shaped and changed U.S. society. Students who take this course should gain a much better understanding of why various minority groups act as they do, allowing you to live and work more effectively in a multicultural environment. Course Description: This course analyzes the social histories, socio-economic conditions, and current challenges confronting various racial, ethnic, sexual, gender, and other minority groups in the U.S.. Various competing theoretical frameworks are utilized, and the general principles of dominant-minority group relations are examined. The politics and social construction of “race” in the U.S. is also studied, focusing on how the Jews and the Irish became “white” over time, and why some social groups adopt a racial identity, while others adopt an ethnic identity.
    [Show full text]
  • Communism's Jewish Question
    Communism’s Jewish Question Europäisch-jüdische Studien Editionen European-Jewish Studies Editions Edited by the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies, Potsdam, in cooperation with the Center for Jewish Studies Berlin-Brandenburg Editorial Manager: Werner Treß Volume 3 Communism’s Jewish Question Jewish Issues in Communist Archives Edited and introduced by András Kovács An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libra- ries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License, as of February 23, 2017. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. ISBN 978-3-11-041152-2 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-041159-1 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-041163-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover illustration: Presidium, Israelite National Assembly on February 20-21, 1950, Budapest (pho- tographer unknown), Archive “Az Izraelita Országos Gyűlés fényképalbuma” Typesetting:
    [Show full text]
  • Holocaust Restitution Timeline
    Holocaust Restitution Timeline 1942 Buxbaum v. Assicurazioni Generali, the first Holo- caust-era lawsuit, was filed in the United States against a major Italian insurance company for policies purchased by a Holocaust victim. Relief granted. 1949 Bernstein v. N. V. Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart-Maatschappij was filed by a Holocaust survivor seeking compensation for the forcible transfer of his business to a Nazi trustee. Relief granted. 1985 Handel v. Artukovic, the first Holocaust-era class action, was filed in the United States by Holocaust survivors from Yugoslavia against a former pro- Nazi Croatian official in violation of the Geneva and the Hague Conventions, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of the Yugoslavian Criminal Code. Suit dismissed. April 23, 1996 U.S. Senate Banking Committee, headed by Senator Alfonse D’Amato, held hearings on the Swiss banks dealing with World War II dormant accounts. May 2, 1996 The Swiss Bankers Association created the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP), chaired by Paul Volcker, to audit records of the Swiss banks on wartime dormant accounts. October 1996 The modern era of Holocaust asset litigation began with the filing of the first of three class action lawsuits against the Swiss banks in federal district court in Brooklyn, New York. January 1997 The third class action suit was filed against the Swiss banks by the World Council of Orthodox Jewish Communities. xiii xiv Holocaust Restitution Timeline January 8, 1997 Christoph Meili discovered the Union Bank of Switzerland attempting to shred pre–World War II financial documents. March 25, 1997 French Prime Minister Alain Juppe created the Prime Minister’s Office Study Mission into the Looting of Jewish Assets in France (“Mattéoli Commission”) to study various forms of theft of Jewish property during World War II and the postwar efforts to remedy such theft.
    [Show full text]
  • Israeli-German Relations in the Years 2000-2006: a Special Relationship Revisited
    Israeli-German Relations in the Years 2000-2006: A Special Relationship Revisited Helene Bartos St. Antony’s College Trinity Term 2007 Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Modern Middle Eastern Studies Faculty of Oriental Studies University of Oxford To my mother and Joe Acknowledgements I would like to use the opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, who generously agreed to oversee my thesis from afar having taken up his post as the Executive Director of the Transatlantic Institute in Brussels in September 2006. Without his full-hearted support and his enduring commitment my research would not have materialised. I am further deeply indebted to Dr. Michael Willis who dedicated his precious time to discuss with me issues pertaining to my research. Special thanks also goes to Dr. Philip Robins, Senior Tutor at St. Antony’s College, for having supported my field work in Germany in the summer vacation of 2006 with a grant from the Carr and Stahl Funds, and to the Hebrew and Jewish Studies Committee and Near and Middle Eastern Studies Committee for having awarded me two research grants to finance my field work in Israel in the winter of 2006. Without listing everyone personally, I would like to thank all my interview partners as well as colleagues and friends who shared with me their thoughts on the nature of the Israeli-German relationship. Having said all this, it is only due to my mother and my boyfriend Joe who have supported me throughout six not always easy years that I have been able to study at Oxford.
    [Show full text]
  • Download This Report
    STRUGGLING FOR ETHNIETHNICC IDENTITYC IDENTITY Ethnic Hungarians in PostPostPost-Post---CeausescuCeausescu Romania Helsinki Watch Human Rights Watch New York !!! Washington !!! Los Angeles !!! London Copyright 8 September 1993 by Human Rights Watch All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN 1-56432-115-0 LCCN: 93-80429 Cover photo: Ethnic Hungarians, carrying books and candles, peacefully demonstrating in the central Transylvanian city of Tîrgu Mure’ (Marosv|s|rhely), February 9-10, 1990. The Hungarian and Romanian legends on the signs they carry read: We're Demonstrating for Our Sweet Mother Tongue! Give back the Bolyai High School, Bolyai University! We Want Hungarian Schools! We Are Not Alone! Helsinki Watch Committee Helsinki Watch was formed in 1978 to monitor and promote domestic and international compliance with the human rights provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The Chair is Jonathan Fanton; Vice Chair, Alice Henkin; Executive Director, Jeri Laber; Deputy Director, Lois Whitman; Counsel, Holly Cartner and Julie Mertus; Research Associates, Erika Dailey, Rachel Denber, Ivana Nizich and Christopher Panico; Associates, Christina Derry, Ivan Lupis, Alexander Petrov and Isabelle Tin- Aung. Helsinki Watch is affiliated with the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, which is based in Vienna, Austria. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some sixty countries around the world. It addresses the human rights practices of governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. In internal wars it documents violations by both governments and rebel groups. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of thought and expression, due process of law and equal protection of the law; it documents and denounces murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, exile, censorship and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • POPORULUI Lmnineazâ-Fe
    Lmnineazâ-fe ţfi vei fi! — Voest« şi vei putea! POPORULUI o. A. Лшшсгт 1 1K1UA NICOLAE ІОКСІА 6. A» CL Uli. ,4-Klíí. 75 ГЛІ^ Prim-weacwr: H BEUACŢIA : STHIDA ЛІСОІЬАК IuRttA Urni в. B 4 | •« S II11mîliai'U *> 4піУІі<і# IQ^M I Ai»SII*lSlbA 11\ : ft TELEFON No. 15-75. Apare In flecare Dumineci Avram Iancu şi I¥. Bălcescu Avram Iancu şi M. SL Regele Ferdinand Dosarele trecutului Aceste două figuri luminoa­ Alba-Iulia, ducea scrisoarea ur­ Acolo nade simţirea naţionale delà 1848, Am petrecut şi eu îu vara aceasta unei vieţi de sat din Ardealul anilor se ale istoriei noastre au ajuns, mătoare lui Kossuth: romanească vibrează în Ardeal, omul pro­ câteva zile la o baie modestă din revoluţiei Iui Iancu. bi toiul evenimentelor măreţ* „Văzând propunerile de pace, puternic şi se mani­ videnţial care a Ardeal. Baie cunoscută şi pe vremea Acum în preajma marilor serbări festă cu emoţia ce trecut la fapte pe din anul 1849 să stea alături. pe cari ni le-a adus d-1 Băl­ Romanilor vechi, dar mai puţin cu­ de prăznuire a memoriei lui Iancu, am numai îu moment? le I ' calea armelor şi prin noscută acum în vremea Românilor cetit cu deosebit interes paginile preo­ Inflăcăratul naţionalist de peste cescu, agentul emigraţiei româ­ ne din partea guvernului un­ hotăiîtoare din viaţa 1 el, poporul român — noui. Aci puţina lume^ce se adună, tului de sub poala munţilor lui Iancu, Carpaţi după-ce a luptat cu to­ gar, trebue să ne exprimăm pă* паеі naţiuni le pot I deşi de puţină înde- de dragul isvoarelor rermale, cu un­ şi nu fără mulţămire.
    [Show full text]