[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 557 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 557

 Expressing support for U.S. government efforts to identify Holocaust-
era assets, urging the restitution of individual and communal property, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 1998

  Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Smith of New 
   Jersey, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Franks of New 
  Jersey, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Berman, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Burton of 
Indiana, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Foley, Mr. Fox 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Frost, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Hastings of 
  Florida, Mr. Horn, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
  Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Sisisky, Mr. Waxman, and Mr. 
 Wexler) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for U.S. government efforts to identify Holocaust-
era assets, urging the restitution of individual and communal property, 
                        and for other purposes.

Whereas the Holocaust was one of the most tragic and complex horrors in this 
        century, and survivors of that catastrophe are now reaching the end of 
        their lives;
Whereas among the many atrocities committed by the Nazis was their systematic 
        effort to confiscate property illegally and wrongfully from individuals, 
        institutions, and communities solely because of religion or ethnicity;
Whereas the Nazi regime used foreign financial institutions to launder and hold 
        property illegally confiscated from Holocaust victims, and some foreign 
        financial institutions violated their fiduciary duty to their customers 
        by converting to their own use financial assets belonging to Holocaust 
        victims and denying heirs of these victims access to these assets 
        through restrictive regulations and unreasonable interpretation of those 
        regulations;
Whereas in the post-Communist period of transition many of the countries of 
        Central and Eastern Europe have begun to enact legal procedures for the 
        restitution of property confiscated or stolen from victims of the 
        holocaust to communities and to individual survivors of the Holocaust 
        and their heirs;
Whereas, despite the enactment of legislation and the establishment of 
        institutions to restore confiscated property in a number of countries, 
        progress has been slow, difficult, and painful, and some countries have 
        established restrictions which require those whose properties have been 
        wrongfully plundered to reside in or be a current citizen of the country 
        from which they now seek restitution or compensation;
Whereas the Tripartite Gold Commission has now concluded its activities, and 
        under the leadership of the United States established an international 
        Nazi Persecutees' Relief Fund, reached agreement with most of the 
        countries which had gold on deposit with the Tripartite Gold Commission 
        to donate their shares to this Persecutees' Fund, and the United States 
        has pledged to contribute $25 million to this fund;
Whereas two significant agreements have recently been reached, the first between 
        Holocaust survivors and private Swiss banks and the second between 
        Holocaust survivors and European insurance companies, which represent 
        significant first steps in the international effort to provide belated 
        justice to survivors and victims of the Holocaust and their heirs;
Whereas the Department of State and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 
        will co-host the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets later 
        this year in order to review current efforts, share research across 
        national borders, renew efforts to open Nazi-era archives, and spur 
        greater progress on the restitution of Holocaust-era assets; and
Whereas there is a growing international consensus and sense of urgency that, 
        after a half century of indifference and inaction, justice must be 
        obtained for victims and survivors of the holocaust and their heirs; 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the great responsibility which the United 
        States has to Holocaust survivors and their families, many of 
        whom are American citizens, to continue to treat the issue of 
        Holocaust-era assets as a high priority and to encourage other 
        governments to do the same;
            (2) commends the agencies of the United States government 
        for their untiring efforts and for the example they have set, 
        including the publication of the May 1997 and June 1998 reports 
        on U.S. and Allied Efforts to Recover or Restore Gold and Other 
        Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany in World War II and the 
        efforts to return such assets to their rightful owners;
            (3) commends those organizations which have played a 
        critical role in the effort to assure compensation and/or 
        restitution for survivors of the Holocaust, and in particular 
        to the World Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Restitution 
        Organization;
            (4) welcomes the convening of the Washington Conference on 
        Holocaust-Era Assets later this year by the United States 
        Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Department of State and 
        expresses the hope that this conference will contribute to the 
        sharing of information and will spur greater progress on the 
        restitution of Holocaust-era assets;
            (5) commends those countries which have instituted 
        procedures for the restitution of individual and communal 
        property confiscated from Holocaust victims, and urges those 
        governments which have not established such procedures to adopt 
        fair and transparent legislation and regulations necessary for 
        such restitution;
            (6) calls upon countries in transition in Central and 
        Eastern Europe to remove certain citizenship or residency 
        prerequisites for individual survivors of the Holocaust seeking 
        restitution of confiscated property;
            (7) notes that former Communist countries which seek to 
        become members of the North Atlantic Alliance and other 
        international organizations must recognize that a part of the 
        process of international integration involves the enactment of 
        laws which safeguard and protect property rights that are 
        similar to those in democratic countries which do not require 
        artificial citizenship and residency requirements for 
        restitution or compensation;
            (8) commends those countries which have established 
        significant commissions, such as the Presidential Advisory 
        Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States, to conduct 
        research into matters relating to Holocaust-era assets, to 
        assure that information developed by these commissions is 
        publicly available, to complete their major historical research 
        efforts, and to contribute to the major funds established to 
        benefit needy Holocaust survivors no later than December 31, 
        1999;
            (9) commends those countries and organizations which have 
        opened their archives and made public records and documents 
        relating to the Nazi era, and urges all countries and 
        organizations, including the United Nations, the Holy See, the 
        International Committee of the Red Cross and national Red Cross 
        organizations, to assure that all materials relating to that 
        era are fully accessible to the public;
            (10) urges all countries to develop and include as a part 
        of their educational curriculum material on the Holocaust, the 
        history of the Second World War, the evils of discrimination 
        and persecution of racial, ethnic or religious minorities, and 
        the consequences of the failure to respect human rights;
            (11) appreciates the efforts of the government of Germany 
        for successfully concluding an agreement with the Conference on 
        Material Claims Against Germany on matters concerning 
        restitution for Holocaust survivors from Central and Eastern 
        Europe who have not yet received restitution, and urges the 
        government of Germany to continue to negotiate with the Claims 
        Conference to expand the eligibility criteria to ensure that 
        all needy Holocaust survivors receive restitution;
            (12) urges all countries to continue aggressive 
        investigation and prosecution of individuals who may have been 
        involved in Nazi-era war crimes, such as the Government of 
        Germany which should investigate Dr. Hans Joachim Sewering for 
        war crimes of active euthanasia and crimes against humanity 
        committed during World War II;
            (13) urges countries, especial Israel, Russia, Poland, and 
        other Central and East European nations, and organizations such 
        as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Israel's 
        Jewish Agency to coordinate efforts to help reunite family 
        members separated during the Holocaust; and
            (14) directs the Clerk of the House to transmit a copy of 
        this resolution to the Secretary of State and requests that the 
        Secretary transmit copies to all relevant parties.
                                 <all>