[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 154 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11874-S11876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. D'AMATO:
  S. 1390. A bill to provide redress for inadequate restitution of 
assets seized by the U.S. Government during World War II which belonged 
to victims of the Holocaust, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations.


                   the holocaust victims redress act

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Holocaust 
Victims Redress Act.
  We all know that the Second World War was one of the darkest periods 
in the history of mankind. Nazi Germany used its vast resources, 
technology, and extensive transportation system for the sole purpose of 
the persecution and annihilation of a single people, simply because of 
their religion. This inhumanity was unheard of in history.
  Starvation, disease, slavery, random executions, children separated 
from their parents, husbands separated from their wives, the murder of 
infants, the rate of women; these were the everyday tortures inflicted 
on the Jews of Europe by their Nazi aggressors. By the end of the war, 
the bulk of the Jewish population, 6 million men, women and children 
had been killed. And those displaced and demoralized few who survived 
this ordeal were left to pick up the pieces of their lives and start 
anew.
  Today, we all know what the Swiss bankers did with the Jewish assets 
entrusted to them. Yet, during that period, the United States 
Government seized $198 million in German assets and froze an estimated 
$1.2 billion more in Swiss assets located in the United States, later 
returned to Switzerland in 1946, after the signing of the Washington 
accords. The unfortunate fact is that among the capital confiscated by 
our Government were funds belonging to Holocaust victims, frozen to 
prevent them from falling into the hands of the Third Reich.
  Realizing that there were victims of the Holocaust who may not have 
had any legal heirs, Congress, after the war, authorized the transfer 
of $3 million from those assets to organizations providing relief and 
rehabilitation to

[[Page S11875]]

Holocaust survivors. However, only one-sixth of that amount was ever 
paid to the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, dedicated to the 
task of caring for the survivors. In June of this year, Under Secretary 
of State Stuart Eizenstat, in testimony before the House Banking 
Committee, urged Congress to reconsider the $500,000 settlement made 
with survivors of the Holocaust, who had assets in U.S. banks, saying 
they have a compelling moral claim to the unpaid portion of the 
estimated $3 million that was originally authorized for compensation.
  The Holocaust Victims Redress Act seeks to right these wrongs, 
providing some amount of justice to survivors of the Holocaust while 
they are still alive, doing so in the following ways:
  As I stated earlier, only one-sixth of the amount authorized by 
Congress was actually paid to the Jewish Restitution Successor 
Organization of New York. This bill would authorize the appropriation 
of funds equal to the present value of the unpaid difference.
  It would seek to strike an agreement among the signatories of the 
Paris Agreement on Reparations whereby all, or a substantial portion, 
of the gold held by the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of 
Monetary Gold would be contributed to charitable organizations to 
assist elderly survivors of the Holocaust.
  Furthermore, it expresses the sense of Congress that all governments 
should act in good faith and facilitate efforts to return private and 
public properties, looted by the Nazis, to their rightful owners in 
accordance with the Hague Convention of 1907.
  I would like to congratulate my colleagues, Representatives Jim Leach 
of Iowa and Benjamin Gilman of New York, chairmen of the House Banking 
and House International Affairs Committees respectively, for their work 
to introduce this bill in the House. It is a good bill. It is the right 
and just thing to do. It offers at least a modicum of justice to a 
rapidly diminishing population which has long suffered the wounds of 
hatred and bigotry inflicted by the Nazis. This legislation has the 
support of the administration, as demonstrated by Under Secretary of 
State Stuart Eizenstat. I strongly urge the bill's speedy adoption.
  Mr. President, I ask for unanimous consent that the text of the bill, 
along with letters from Under Secretary of State Stuart Eizenstat and 
the Anti-Defamation League in support of the legislation, be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1390

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Holocaust Victims Redress 
     Act''.
                        TITLE I--HEIRLESS ASSETS

     SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Among the $198,000,000 in German assets located in the 
     United States and seized by the United States Government in 
     World War II were believed to be bank accounts, trusts, 
     securities, or other assets belonging to Jewish victims of 
     the Holocaust.
       (2) Among an estimated $1,200,000,000 in assets of Swiss 
     nationals and institutions which were frozen by the United 
     States Government during World War II (including over 
     $400,000,000 in bank deposits) were assets whose beneficial 
     owners were believed to include victims of the Holocaust.
       (3) In the aftermath of the war, the Congress recognized 
     that some of the victims of the Holocaust whose assets were 
     among those seized or frozen during the war might not have 
     any legal heirs, and legislation was enacted to authorize the 
     transfer of up to $3,000,000 of such assets to organizations 
     dedicated to providing relief and rehabilitation for 
     survivors of the Holocaust.
       (4) Although the Congress and the Administration authorized 
     the transfer of such amount to the relief organizations 
     referred to in paragraph (3), the enormous administrative 
     difficulties and cost involved in proving legal ownership of 
     such assets, directly or beneficially, by victims of the 
     Holocaust, and proving the existence or absence of heirs of 
     such victims, led the Congress in 1962 to agree to a lump-sum 
     settlement and to provide $500,000 for the Jewish Restitution 
     Successor Organization of New York, such sum amounting to \1/
     6\th of the authorized maximum level of ``heirless'' assets 
     to be transferred.
       (5) In June of 1997, a representative of the Secretary of 
     State, in testimony before the Congress, urged the 
     reconsideration of the limited $500,000 settlement.
       (6) While a precisely accurate accounting of ``heirless'' 
     assets may be impossible, good conscience warrants the 
     recognition that the victims of the Holocaust have a 
     compelling moral claim to the unrestituted portion of assets 
     referred to in paragraph (3).
       (7) Furthermore, leadership by the United States in meeting 
     obligations to Holocaust victims would strengthen--
       (A) the efforts of the United States to press for the 
     speedy distribution of the remaining nearly 6 metric tons of 
     gold still held by the Tripartite Commission for the 
     Restitution of Monetary Gold (the body established by France, 
     Great Britain, and the United States at the end of World War 
     II to return gold looted by Nazi Germany to the central banks 
     of countries occupied by Germany during the war); and
       (B) the appeals by the United States to the 15 nations 
     claiming a portion of such gold to contribute a substantial 
     portion of any such distribution to Holocaust survivors in 
     recognition of the recently documented fact that the gold 
     held by the Commission includes gold stolen from individual 
     victims of the Holocaust.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
       (1) To provide a measure of justice to survivors of the 
     Holocaust all around the world while they are still alive.
       (2) To authorize the appropriation of an amount which is at 
     least equal to the present value of the difference between 
     the amount which was authorized to be transferred to 
     successor organizations to compensate for assets in the 
     United States of heirless victims of the Holocaust and the 
     amount actually paid in 1962 to the Jewish Restitution 
     Successor Organization of New York for that purpose.
       (3) To facilitate efforts by the United States to seek an 
     agreement whereby nations with claims against gold held by 
     the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary 
     Gold would contribute all, or a substantial portion, of that 
     gold to charitable organizations to assist survivors of the 
     Holocaust.

     SEC. 102. DISTRIBUTIONS BY THE TRIPARTITE GOLD COMMISSION.

       (a) Directions to the President.--The President shall 
     direct the commissioner representing the United States on the 
     Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold, 
     established pursuant to Part III of the Paris Agreement on 
     Reparation, to seek and vote for a timely agreement under 
     which all signatories to the Paris Agreement on Reparation, 
     with claims against the monetary gold pool in the 
     jurisdiction of such Commission, contribute all, or a 
     substantial portion, of such gold to charitable organizations 
     to assist survivors of the Holocaust.
       (b) Authority To Obligate the United States.--
       (1) In general.--From funds otherwise unobligated in the 
     Treasury of the United States, the President is authorized to 
     obligate an amount not to exceed $30,000,000 for distribution 
     in accordance with subsections (a) and (b).
       (2) Conformance with budget act requirement.--Any budget 
     authority contained in paragraph (1) shall be effective only 
     to such extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance 
     in appropriation Acts.

     SEC. 103. FULFILLMENT OF OBLIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the President such sums as may be 
     necessary for fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000, not to 
     exceed a total of $25,000,000 for all such fiscal years, for 
     distribution to organizations as may be specified in any 
     agreement concluded pursuant to section 102, only if the 
     organizations meet the needs of Holocaust survivors in the 
     United States.
       (b) Archival Research.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the President $5,000,000 for archival 
     research and translation services to assist in the 
     restitution of assets looted or extorted from victims of the 
     Holocaust and such other activities that would further 
     Holocaust remembrance and education.
                         TITLE II--WORKS OF ART

     SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Established pre-World War II principles of 
     international law, as enunciated in Articles 47 and 56 of the 
     Regulations annexed to the 1907 Hague Convention (IV) 
     Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, prohibited 
     pillage and the seizure of works of art.
       (2) In the years since World War II, international 
     sanctions against confiscation of works of art have been 
     amplified through such conventions as the 1970 Convention on 
     the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, 
     Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which 
     forbids the illegal export of art work and calls for its 
     earliest possible restitution to its rightful owner.
       (3) In defiance of the 1907 Hague Convention, the Nazis 
     extorted and looted art from individuals and institutions in 
     countries it occupied during World War II and used such booty 
     to help finance their war of aggression.
       (4) The Nazis' policy of looting art was a critical element 
     and incentive in their campaign of genocide against 
     individuals of Jewish and other religious and cultural 
     heritage and, in this context, the Holocaust, while standing 
     as a civil war against defined individuals and civilized 
     values, must be considered a fundamental aspect of the world 
     war unleashed on the continent.

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       (5) Hence, the same international legal principles applied 
     among states should be applied to art and other assets stolen 
     from victims of the Holocaust.
       (6) In the aftermath of the war, art and other assets were 
     transferred from territory previously controlled by the Nazis 
     to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, much of which has 
     not been returned to rightful owners.

     SEC. 202. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING RESTITUTION OF 
                   PRIVATE PROPERTY, SUCH AS WORKS OF ART.

       It is the sense of the Congress that consistent with the 
     1907 Hague Convention, all governments should undertake good 
     faith efforts to facilitate the return of private and public 
     property, such as works of art, to the rightful owners in 
     cases where assets were confiscated from the claimant during 
     the period of Nazi rule and there is reasonable proof that 
     the claimant is the rightful owner.
                                  ____



                                     U.S. Department of State,

                                 Washington, DC, November 4, 1997.
     Hon. Alphonse M. D'Amato,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator D'Amato: I want to bring you up to date on our 
     efforts to establish a ``Nazi Persecutee Relief Fund'' from 
     the remaining Tripartite Commission Gold (TGC) gold pool. As 
     you know, the TGC was charged after the war with gathering 
     the gold looted by the Nazis and with returning it to the 
     central banks from which it had been taken. Most of the gold 
     in the fund had been returned to the 15 claimant countries 
     long ago, but about 1.6% of the pool remains undistributed. 
     This now amounts to about $60 to $70 million at current 
     values.
       Our TGC partners, the British and French, like us, very 
     much want to close out the fund. Mindful of the origin of 
     some of the gold, they have joined with us in proposing to 
     the claimant states that the remaining gold be transferred to 
     this new special Holocaust victims fund. Reactions from the 
     claimant countries have been generally positive, and we are 
     hopeful that such a fund might be announced by the end of the 
     year. The idea if that each of the claimant countries would 
     voluntarily turn over all or part of its share to the new 
     fund. Other countries, including neutral countries that had 
     received Nazi gold during the war, would also be invited to 
     contribute, as would other states that have an interest in, 
     or played a role in the collection and disposition of the 
     tainted gold. A TGC working group met in Brussels in late 
     September to discuss how such a fund might be established. A 
     follow-up meeting will be held shortly.
       We would very much like the United States to participate in 
     this fund with it own contribution of up to $25 million. The 
     legislation that you and Congressman Leach have introduced is 
     very supportive of this objective. It is very important that 
     we be able to assist both American and other needy victims of 
     the Nazi Holocaust. Such a contribution would be fully 
     consistent with our leadership role and provide a powerful 
     incentive for the TGC claimant countries, wartime neutrals, 
     and others, also to contribute.
       The legislation is being reviewed by our experts and their 
     comments will be provided to you shortly. I hope that we can 
     work together to achieve the establishment of this fund, and 
     our contribution to it.
           Very truly yours,
                                              Stuart A. Bizenstat,
     Ambassador.
                                  ____



                                       Anti-Defamation League,

                                   New York, NY, November 5, 1997.
     Hon. Alfonse D'Amato,
     Chairman, Senate Banking Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Alfonse: We commend your leadership in seeking to 
     investigate and expose the large-scale plundering of Jewish 
     assets during the Holocaust and the depth of the involvement 
     of banks and governments in helping finance the Nazi war 
     machine.
       As aging survivors wait out arduous investigations and 
     negotiations, we must act quickly to enable them to live out 
     their remaining years with as much dignity and sense of 
     healing as possible.
       The Holocaust Victims Redress Act would offer much needed 
     support to some victims and strengthen our nation's hand in 
     appealing to other nations to commit resources to help 
     survivors.
       We are grateful for your efforts to awaken the conscience 
     of the American people and your resolve to do justice for 
     remaining Holocaust victims. If the U.S. hopes to credibly 
     compel all nations to act, we must act expeditiously and take 
     responsibility for any inadequacies in our own post-war 
     behavior.
           Sincerely,
     Howard P. Berkowitz,
       National Chairman.
     Abraham H. Foxman,
       National Director.
                                 ______