    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 15, 1999]
    [Pages 2302-2303]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Action by the German Government To Compensate Victims of
    Forced Labor of the Nazi Regime and an Exchange With Reporters
    December 15, 1999

        The President. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I want to make
    a statement about the very important work that Stu Eizenstat has been involved with. I have just received a
    letter from Chancellor Schroeder
    confirming that the German Government and German industry are prepared
    to commit 10 billion deutsche marks, the equivalent of more than $5
    billion, to a fund for those who were slave and forced laborers and
    suffered other injuries under the Nazi regime.
        We believe this satisfies the requirements of those representing the
    victims. We close the 20th century with an extraordinary achievement
    that will bring an added measure of material and moral justice to the
    victims of this century's most terrible crime. It will help us start a
    new millennium on higher ground.
        Those who will benefit are elderly survivors. Sadly, they're passing
    away at a rate of almost 10 percent a year. Some are living here in the
    United States, many are living in central and eastern Europe, double
    victims who endured the Holocaust first and then a half-century of
    communism. They have been waiting a long, long time, and nothing can
    fully compensate their searing loss.
        But we can accept our generation's responsibility to remember and to
    redress the injustices they suffered. We owe that to them and to future
    generations. I've been working with Chancellor Schroeder for some time to reach this point. We could not have
    done this without his truly remarkable leadership.
        Germany already has made more than $60 billion in payments to
    Holocaust survivors and to other victims of Nazi persecution. But this
    is the first important gesture made to those who were forced and slave
    laborers working for private industry, to those whose insurance policies
    were not honored, and those whose property was confiscated.
        This was not an easy step for the German Government to take, but it
    reaffirms its commitment to human dignity, reinforces its partnership
    with the United States, and strengthens its ties with neighbors in
    central and eastern Europe. I want to thank the companies involved in
    the settlement for acknowledging their moral and historic
    responsibility.

    [[Page 2303]]

        I will do everything I can to provide legal finality for them and to
    remove the potential cloud hanging over German companies doing business
    here in the United States. I also thank the plaintiffs in this case for
    their persistence in a just cause and their patience in reaching a just
    solution. Given the age of the survivors, it was vital to reach this
    agreement now rather than wait for the outcome of lengthy litigation.
        Finally, let me say I am deeply grateful to Deputy Secretary of the
    Treasury Eizenstat for the truly
    remarkable job he has done to bring us to this day. He has already done
    so much to help us shed light on this cruel period in human history and
    to bring justice to its victims. I know of few people who combine his
    commitment to doing the right thing with his actual skill at getting
    things done.
        I'm sending Stu and his team to
    Berlin to meet with all the parties to finalize the agreement so that it
    can be implemented as soon as possible. After I complete this statement,
    he will go to the briefing room and answer your questions. Again, my
    deepest respect and appreciation to Chancellor Schroeder and the German Government, as well as to Deputy
    Secretary Eizenstat. This is a very good day for the cause of freedom
    and a good day for the United States.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. Mr. President, what kind of compensation do you think the
    lawyers, if any, deserve who negotiated this deal?
        The President. We're all going to get a cold if we stay out here.
    Stu can answer all those questions.
    Let's go in the briefing room, and he can answer them. Thank you.

    Israel-Syria Talks

        Q. Mr. President, before you go, could you give us a sense of how
    the Mideast talks are going today?
        The President. They're going pretty well. But it's hard going, and
    we've got work to do, so I'm going back to work. Thanks.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:52 p.m. on the South Grounds at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of
    Germany.