[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SWISS AGREEMENT TO INVESTIGATE JEWISH FUNDS IN SWISS BANKS

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the recent 
agreement of the Swiss to investigate the issue of Jewish money, as 
well as looted assets that were deposited in Swiss banks before and 
during the war.
  The Swiss, in responding to overwhelming international pressure have 
agreed to yet another commission to investigate the issue. I must state 
that we have heard this before. We were told at the end of the WWII 
that the Swiss would look for Jewish assets and they responded by 
saying that they found nothing. Yet in 1949, the Swiss concluded an 
agreement with the Polish Government to turn over the assets of 
heirless, largely meaning Jewish assets. The problem was that they made 
this agreement with the Communist-run Polish Government and not the 
Jewish people to whom the assets belonged. According to their own 
sources, the Swiss had no laws on the books providing for this. 
Nevertheless, they did the same thing the following year with the 
Communist-run Hungarian and Czech Governments. While saying all along 
they had no Jewish assets in Switzerland, the Swiss nevertheless found 
enough to conclude agreements with other governments to turn over funds 
that did not belong to them. Clearly they have not been forthcoming 
with the world.
  The Swiss again investigated the subject in the early 1960's. Again, 
they found money, some $2 million. Yet, all along there were public 
statements to the effect that little money would be found.
  In 1995, another search was made and some $32 million in dormant 
accounts were found. Again, Swiss banks and Swiss Government officials 
said this proves that there was not a lot of money left over.
  One must ask oneself, however, if the Swiss keep saying that there is 
no Jewish money in Switzerland from the 1930's and 1940's, why then do 
they keep finding money? Clearly the answer must be that they are in 
fact sitting on great sums of money and are letting it come out in 
drips and drabs, only in response to immense international pressure. 
They seem to think that they can outlast us. Well, they are wrong.
  They can create commission after commission to study the issue, but 
the only way to solve the issue once and for all is to open their 
books, entirely, and put this all to rest. Stonewalling will not work, 
we understand what they are trying to do. Enough is enough. Open the 
books now.

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