**Joint Statement\
**

**on occasion of\
the final plenary meeting\
concluding international talks on the preparation\
of the\
Foundation\
\"Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future\"**

The Governments of the Republic of Belarus, the Czech Republic, the
State of Israel, the Republic of Poland, the Russian Federation and
Ukraine,\
\
The Governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States
of America,\
\
The German companies that founded the initiative to establish a
foundation, which have since been joined by thousands of other German
companies, and\
\
As further participants, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims
Against Germany, Inc. and the undersigned attorneys,\
\
Recalling the proposal presented to the Chancellor of the Federal
Republic of Germany by German companies on February 16, 1999, to send,
as the century draws to a close, \"a conclusive humanitarian signal, out
of a sense of moral responsibility, solidarity and self-respect,\"\
\
Acknowledging the intention of both the Government of the Federal
Republic of Germany and German companies to accept moral and historical
responsibility ari-sing from the use of slave and forced laborers, from
property damage suffered as a consequence of racial persecution and from
other injustices of the National Socia-list era and World War II,\
\
Recalling with appreciation the December 17, 1999, statement of the
President of the Federal Republic of Germany paying tribute to those who
were subjected to slave and forced labor under German rule, recognizing
their suffering and the in-justices done to them, and begging
forgiveness in the name of the German people,\
\
Affirming the consensus reached by all participants on December 17,
1999, at the 7th plenary meeting in Berlin on the establishment of the
Foundation \"Re-membrance, Responsibility and the Future,\"\
\
Understanding that the Foundation is a sign of solidarity with the
victims living in Central and Eastern European states and also a means
of providing funds for vic-tims from Central and Eastern Europe, most of
whom benefited little from prior German compensation and restituition
programs,\
\
Understanding that insofar as the sum of 10 billion DM to be made
available by the German public sector and the German companies for the
Foundation \"Re-membrance, Responsibility and the Future\" is concerned,
that sum is both a ceiling and the final amount and that all payments
made towards former National Socialist slave and forced laborers, for
other personal injury, for damage to pro-perty and for the Future Fund
envisaged as part of the Foundation, as well as other costs incurred in
connection with the Foundation, shall be financed from this sum, from
any contributions from others, and the interest thereon,\
\
Understanding that additional contributions by others for use by the
Foundation are welcomed,\
\
Recognizing that the Foundation will provide dignified payments to
hundreds of thousands of survivors and to others who suffered from
wrongs during the Na-tional Socialist era and World War II,\
\
Accepting the common objective that German companies (including parents
and subsidiaries as defined in Annex A) receive all embracing and
enduring legal peace,\
\
Recognizing that it would be in the participants\' interests for the
Foundation to be the exclusive remedy and forum for the resolution of
all claims that have been or may be asserted against German companies
arising out of the National Socialist era and World War II,\
\
Recognizing that the establishment of the Foundation does not create a
basis for claims against the Federal Republic of Germany or its
nationals,

Declare as follows:\
\
1. All participants welcome and support the Foundation \"Remembrance,
Re-sponsi-bility and the Future\" and declare their agreement with its
elements, including the annexed distribution plan (Annex B). The
interests of the former forced laborers, other victims and heirs have
been duly taken into account. Based on the circumstances, all
participants con-sider the overall result and the distribution of the
Foundation funds to be fair to the victims and their heirs. The
Foundation opens up the prospect of payment being made, even if, 55
years after the end of the war, the wrongdoer can no longer be traced or
is no longer in ex-istence. The Foundation is also a means of providing
funds for forced laborers in addition to payments made by Germany so
far.\
\
2. Given the advanced age of the victims concerned, the primary
humanita-rian objective of the Foundation \"Remembrance, Responsibility
and the Future\" is to show re-sults as soon as possible. All
participants will work together with the Foundation in a co-operative,
fair and non-bureaucratic man-ner to ensure that the payments reach the
victims quickly.\
\
3. Payments are to be made to applicants on behalf of the Foundation
\"Re-membrance, Responsibility and the Future\" irrespective of their
race, religion and nationality. Insofar as the participants themselves
distribute funds, they will base their decisions on the criteria of
eligibility set out in the German law establishing the Foundation and
will act justly in this regard.\
\
4. The participating Governments and other participants will proceed as
follows:\
\
a) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany (\"Germany\") and
the German companies shall each contribute DM 5 billion to the
Foundation \"Re-membrance, Responsibility and the Future.\"\
\
b) Germany and the Government of the United States of America (\"United
States\") will sign an Executive Agreement. Such agreement contains the
obligation undertaken by the United States to assist in achieving
all-embra-cing and enduring legal peace for German companies.\
\
c) The Governments of the participating Central and Eastern European
States and Israel will implement the necessary specific measures within
the frame-work of their national legal systems to achieve all-embracing
and en-during legal peace.\
\
d) Assuming the request for a transfer referred to in paragraph (e) is
granted, the DM 5 billion contribution of German companies shall be due
and pay-able to the Foundation and payments from the Foundation shall
begin once all lawsuits against German companies arising out of the
National Socialist era and World War II pending in U.S. courts including
those listed in Annex C and D are finally dismissed with prejudice by
the courts. The initial portion of the DM 5 billion German Government
contribution will be made available to the Foundation by October 31,
2000. The remainder of the German Government contribution will be made
available to the Fe-deral Foundation by December 31, 2000. Contributions
from the German Government will begin earning interest for the benefit
of the Foundation immediately upon being made available to the
Foundation. The German Government may advance some of its contribution
to the partner organiza-tions for certain start-up costs before the
lawsuits are finally dismissed. The German companies will make available
reasonable ad-vanced funding to provide appropriate publicity of the
upcoming availabi-lity of Foundation benefits. German company funds will
continue to be collected on a sche-dule and in a manner that will ensure
that the interest earned thereon before and after their delivery to the
Foundation will reach at least 100 million DM.\
\
e) Counsel for German company defendants and counsel for plaintiffs
(each seeking to assemble at least a substantial majority of
defendants\' and plain-tiffs\' counsel respectively) have filed requests
with the Multidistrict Litiga-tion Panel seeking a transfer under
appropriate conditions to a mutually agreeable federal judge of the
federal district court cases listed in Annexes C and D, for the purpose
of implementing the other steps in this Joint State-ment and in order to
facilitate carrying out the objectives of the Executive Agreement by
dismissing with prejudice the transferred cases and any later filed
cases thereafter to be transferred as \"tag-along\" cases.\
\
f) Germany will immediately establish a preparatory committee for the
Foun-da-tion. The preparatory committee, after consulting with victims\'
represen-tatives, will provide the publicity envisaged in paragraph (d)
prior to the formal establishment of the Foundation, and, in
consultation with partner organizations, prepare for the collection of
applications for payment by the partner organizations.\
\
g) The counsel for the plaintiffs will file motions or stipulations to
dismiss with prejudice all lawsuits they have filed currently pending in
U.S. courts against German companies arising out of the National
Socialist era and World War II, including those listed in Annex C. They
will also cooperate in seeking dismissal with prejudice by the courts of
all other such lawsuits, including those listed in Annex D.\
\
h) Germany and the United States will bring into force the Executive
Agree-ment and the United States will thereupon file the Statement of
Interest as provided therein.\
\
i) The German Government will encourage German companies to open their
archives relating to the National Socialist era and World War II.\
\
\
Done at Berlin on the seventeenth day of July of the year Two Thousand
in a single original, copies of which will be made available to
interested parties.

For the Government of the Republic of Belarus

For the Government of the Czech Republic

For the Government of the State of Israel

For the Government of the Republic of Poland

For the Government of the Russian Federation

For the Government of Ukraine

For the Government of the United States of America

For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany

For the Foundation Initiative of German Enterprises

For the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc.

Linda Gerstel\
Lawrence Kill\
for Anderson, Kill & Olick, P.C.

Edward W. Millstein\
Stephen A. Whinston\
for Berger and Montague, P.C

Irwin B. Levin\
Richard E. Shevitz\
for Cohen & Malad, P.C.

Michael D. Hausfeld\
for Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C.

Edward Fagan\
for Fagan & Associates

Carey D\'Avino

Barry Fisher\
for Fleishman & Fisher

Dennis Sheils\
Robert Swift\
for Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C.

Morris A. Ratner\
for Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, L.L.P.

Martin Mendelsohn\
for Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, Mc Pherson and Hand

Deborah M. Sturman\
Melvyn I. Weiss\
for Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach, L.L.P.

J. Dennis Faucher\
for Miller, Faucher, Cafferty & Wexler, L.L.P.

Burt Neuborne\
New York University School of Law

Myroslaw Smorodsky

Melvyn Urbach

Stanley M. Chesley\
for Waite, Schneider, Bayles & Chesley

Michael Witti

**ANNEX A\
to the\
Joint Statement\
on occasion of the final plenary meeting concluding international talks
on the preparation of\
the Federal Foundation \"Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future\",\
done at Berlin, 17 July 2000**\
\
\
**Definition of \"German Companies\"**

\"German companies\" are defined as in Sections 12 and 16 of the
legislation establishing the Foundation \"Remembrance, Responsibility
and the Future,\" as follows:\
\
1. Enterprises that had their headquarters within the 1937 borders of
the German Reich or that have their headquarters in the Federal Republic
of Germany, as well as their parent companies, even when the latter had
or have their headquarters abroad.\
\
2. Enterprises situated outside the 1937 borders of the German Reich in
which during the period between January 30, 1933, and the entry into
force of the legislation establishing the Foundation \"Remembrance,
Responsibility and the Future,\" German enterprises as described in
Sentence (1) had a direct or indirect financial participation of at
least 25 percent.\
\
3. \"German companies\" does not include foreign parent companies with
headquarters outside the 1937 borders of the German Reich in any case in
which the sole alleged claim arising from National Socialist injustice
or World War II has no connection with the German affiliate and the
latter\'s involvement in National Socialist injustice, unless there is
pending a discovery request by plaintiff(s), of which the United States
is provided notice by the defendant with copy to plaintiff(s), seeking
discovery from or concerning World War II or National Socialist era
actions of the German affiliate.

**Other ANNEXES** are available at
www.usembassy.de/policy/holocaust/index.htm.