[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 5, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SWISS BANKS, JEWISH DEPOSITS, AND PLUNDERED JEWISH ASSETS

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to speak again on the role 
of Swiss banks during the war in relation to their continued retention 
of Jewish assets as well as looted Jewish assets.
  During the course of our ongoing inquiry into these important 
subjects, we continue to find documents which detail the alleged use of 
Swiss banks by the Nazis for illicit purposes. One such declassified 
intelligence document, dated June 12, 1945, from the U.S. Legation in 
Bern, Switzerland, entitled ``Interim Report on Johann Wehrli & Co., 
Zurich,'' details the use of a special account set up at what was then 
called the Wehrli Bank in Zurich under the name of the ``Trustee 
Account Gustloff Stiftung.''
  I want to quote the relevant section of this document to further 
explain this point.

       The payments to the Germans of the Hirtenbergerwerke 
     ([Fritz] Mandl's munitions factory in Austria) assets, which 
     were under Mandl's control in 1938, were effected through the 
     Wehrli Bank to an account known as Trustee Account Gustloff 
     Stiftung. The examiner, who has a personal knowledge 
     concerning the background of this trust as a result of his 
     many years residence in Germany before the war, described the 
     Gustloff Stiftung as a ``fund'' in which were placed the 
     assets and titles of property taken by the Nazis from Jewish 
     businessmen in Germany and the occupied countries. Gustloff, 
     the head of the Nazi party in Switzerland, was murdered in 
     1935 by one Frankfurter. In accordance with the prevailing 
     practice at the time, Gustloff was selected by the Nazis as 
     one of their ``martyrs'' and many statues were erected to 
     perpetuate his name. The name of the trust, therefore, seems 
     to have no further significance. The only record of Gustloff 
     Stiftung on the books of Wehrli is in connection with the 
     sale of the Hirtenbergerwerke properties.

  This revelation, if true, seems very disturbing, in that a Swiss bank 
had a specific account set up to hold plundered assets of European 
Jews. From other documents, we have information that leads us to 
believe that the Wehrli Bank was also used to transfer assets of 
Germans to Argentina, near the end of World War II and after. This begs 
the question, were assets from the Gustloff Stiftung also transferred 
to South America or other locations.
  Of particular concern is the further question of whether there were 
other accounts like the Gustloff Stiftung in other Swiss banks. While 
we cannot yet verify this, it is entirely possible that if one such 
account existed, others did also.
  On the topic of Jewish assets in Swiss banks, I would like to comment 
that the answers that we are receiving to questions we are asking the 
Swiss Bankers Association are wholly insufficient. They are evasive and 
they continue to deny any knowledge of impropriety. They continue to 
dodge questions as to where these assets might be, or if they even 
existed.
  We have very clear information that suggests that Swiss banks have 
continued to maintain this myth now for over one-half of a century. In 
this vein, I would like to submit for the record, evidence of this 
claim.
  Therefore, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record, at 
this point, three documents detailing a request for information on 
their account in the Swiss Bank Corporation, from July 1939, made on 
behalf of an Austrian Jewish couple by the names of Anny and Kurt 
Kadisch. One is a letter to the State Department from Congressman 
Robert L. Rodgers regarding this request, the second is a letter to the 
Swiss Bank Corporation from the Kadisch's attorney to the bank, and the 
third is the answer from the Swiss Bank Corporation to the Kadisch's 
attorney.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                     Washington, DC, July 7, 1939.
     Office of the Adviser on International Economic Affairs,
     Department of State,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Livesey: On June 27th my office contacted you 
     relative to the proper procedure to be followed to ascertain 
     the status of an account in a bank in Switzerland. The 
     information which was given to me by the constituent making 
     the inquiry was not sufficient to enable the Department of 
     State to give any difinite instructions, and your office 
     suggested we make further inquiry of my correspondent.
       In today's mail my constituent, Mr. Roberts, advised me 
     further in the matter--as will be noted in the inclosed 
     letters (copies).
       What Anny and Kurt Kadisch really desire is to effect the 
     transfer of the funds to the credit of Account 61879 to this 
     country. They also want to know the status of the account at 
     the persent time and the best course to follow to have these 
     funds transferred to the United States.
       Any information your office can furnish, or advice as to 
     procedure for Mr. Roberts or his clients, Anny and Kurt 
     Kadisch, will be personally appreciated. I am well acquainted 
     with Mr. Roberts, who is a capable and reliable attorney.
           Very respectfully,
     R.L. Rodgers.
                                                                    ____

                                                Samuel J. Roberts,


                                              Attorney at Law,

                                           Erie, PA, May 23, 1939.
     Albert Marti, Director,
     Schweizer Bankverein,
     Zuerich, Rudolfspletz, Switzerland.
       Dear Director Marti: We have been requested by Anny and 
     Kurt Kadisch, formerly of Graz, Austria, to determine the 
     present status of Account No. 61879, which consists of the 
     purchase of Two Thousand (2000) pounds British War Assented 
     Loan 3\1/2\%.
       Will you please be kind enough to give us whatever 
     information you have concerning this Account and forward to 
     us forms, or documents, which may be necessary to prepare an 
     order to effect a transfer of said Account?
       You are assured that we shall greatly appreciate any 
     information which you can give us concerning this matter.
           Very truly yours,
     Samuel J. Roberts.
                                                                    ____



                                       Swiss Bank Corporation,

                                              Zurich, Switzerland.
     Basle St. Gall Geneva Lausanne,
     La Chaux-de-Fonds Neuchatel, Schaffhausen London E.C., 2, 99 
         Gresham St., Bienne Chlasso Herisau Le Locle Nyon, Algle 
         Bischofszell Morges Rorschach Zofingen.
       Fully paid-up capital and reserves Fr. 194,000,000.
       Telegrams: Suisbanque.

                                      Samuel J. Roberts, Esq.,

                                                  Attorney at Law,
     Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
                                                                    ____

                                             Zurich, June 2, 1939.
       Dear Sir: We are in receipt of your letter of May 23rd and 
     regret being unable to give you the information desired.
           Yours faithfully
                                           Swiss Bank Corporation.

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, as one can read, the Kadisch's attorney 
requested help for them from Congressman Rodgers, who then wrote to the 
State Department on their behalf. Their attorney also wrote on their 
behalf to the bank in question. The Kadisch's were checking on the 
status of their account, of which unlike other claimants, they had the 
account number.
  As we have found to be the case after the war, the Swiss bank denied 
them any information about the account. As of yet, we do not know what 
was the fate of this account. This is, however, disturbing, especially 
since the Kadisch's had the bank's name as well as the account number. 
This document only brings up more questions for the Swiss banks to 
answer.
  I hope that we will be able to obtain answers to these and other 
questions in the coming months. Right now, however, I am very 
disappointed in the lack of cooperation by the Swiss Bankers 
Association and their continued denial of knowledge regarding these 
accounts as well as the fate of plundered Jewish assets.

                          ____________________