[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FASCIST AND COMMUNIST ERA CONFISCATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 27, 1996

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a 
resolution that takes up the difficult, complex, and challenging issue 
of property claims arising from Fascist and Communist era 
confiscations. Joining me as original cosponsors are Representatives 
Porter, Wolf, Funderburk, Salmon, Hoyer, Markey, and Cardin and we 
welcome others who would want to cosponsor the measure. The resolution 
brings focus to points long raised by Americans who have unresolved 
property claims and particular issues which were the subject of a 
hearing on property claims in Central and Eastern Europe held in July 
by the Helsinki Commission, which I chair.
  In convening that hearing, Mr. Speaker, the Helsinki Commission 
sought to address two specific questions. First, as Central and East 
European countries privatize and, in some cases, make restitution of, 
or compensation for, property that had been wrongly confiscated in the 
past, are the interests of American citizens being adequated protected?
  Second, we sought to examine the situation of Holocaust survivors in 
Central and Eastern Europe. While survivors in the West and in Israel 
were, in general, able to receive some compensation--primarily from 
Germany--at the end of World War II, survivors in the East found 
themselves twice victimized: first by the Nazis, and then by Communist 
regimes which prevented them from pursuing compensation claims and 
often prevented them from regaining lands expropriated by the Nazis. 
Our second question, therefore, was this: Can compensation now be made 
available to these survivors--in time to help them live their remaining 
days in dignity?
  The Commission received expert testimony from two individuals who 
lead our Government's efforts in this area: Stuart E. Eizenstat, 
Undersecretary of Commerce and Special Envoy for Property Claims in 
Central and Eastern Europe, and Delissa A. Ridgway, Chair of the 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
  Mr. Speaker, our witnesses' testimony, augmented by significant 
information provided by nongovernmental sources, provided clear answers 
to our questions. While some progress has been made in every country in 
Central and East Europe, more progress is needed. Our resolution seeks 
to send that message to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe 
and, in particular, calls for the urgent return of property formerly 
belonging to Jewish communities as a means of redressing the especially 
compelling problems of aging and often destitute survivors of the 
Holocaust.
  Also, in some countries, the rights of Americans are clearly not 
being adequately protected. I understand, of course, that property 
restitution or compensation is a very complex subject, and I commend 
those countries that have sought to address it and sought to correct 
the past wrongs of Fascist and Communist regimes. But those efforts 
will fall far short of their mark if they perpetuate a new form of 
discrimination--discrimination against individuals who dared flee 
communism and sought refuge here in the United States. Accordingly, 
this resolution calls for countries to remove from their books 
restrictions which require claimants seeking compensation or 
restitution to have the citizenship of, or residency in, the country 
from which they seek compensation or restitution.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, this resolution would be incomplete if it did 
not also address the related problem of those financial institutions, 
notably Swiss banks, which are known to have converted for their own 
use, financial assets rightly belonging to Holocaust victims. The 
measure I introduce today calls on such financial institutions to 
restore this property to it rightful owners. A resolution of this 
inexcusable wrong is long overdue.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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