U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

38–141PDF 2007

AMERICA’S ROLE IN ADDRESSING OUTSTANDING

HOLOCAUST ISSUES

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

OCTOBER 3, 2007

Serial No. 110–110

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

TOM LANTOS, California, Chairman 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee 

GENE GREEN, Texas 

LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California 

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas 

RUBE ́ N HINOJOSA, Texas 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

DAVID WU, Oregon 

BRAD MILLER, North Carolina 

LINDA T. SA ́ NCHEZ, California 

DAVID SCOTT, Georgia 

JIM COSTA, California 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona 

RON KLEIN, Florida 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

BOB INGLIS, South Carolina 

LUIS G. FORTUN ̃ O, Puerto Rico 

GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida 

ROBERT R. KING, Staff Director 

YLEEM POBLETE, Republican Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida, Chairman 

JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee 

RUBE ́ N HINOJOSA, Texas 

BRAD MILLER, North Carolina 

LINDA T. SA ́ NCHEZ, California 

JIM COSTA, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

TED POE, Texas 

BOB INGLIS, South Carolina 

LUIS G. FORTUN ̃ O, Puerto Rico 

GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida 

JONATHAN KATZ, Subcommittee Staff Director 

ERIC JOHNSON, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member 

RICHARD MEREU, Republican Professional Staff Member 

MARIANA MAGUIRE, Staff Associate 
(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable J. Christian Kennedy, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, 

Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State ........... 4

Mr. Gideon Taylor, Executive Vice President, Conference on Jewish Material 

Claims Against Germany, Inc. ............................................................................ 23

Mr. Jehuda Evron, President, Holocaust Restitution Committee ....................... 39

Mr. Sidney Zabludoff, Former Consultant, Conference on Jewish Material 

Claims Against Germany, Inc. ............................................................................ 41

Mr. Jack Rubin, Holocaust Survivor, Member of the Advisory Committee, 

Holocaust Survivors of West Palm Beach .......................................................... 44

Mr. Alex Moskovic, Holocaust Survivor, Member of the Board of Directors 

and Executive Committee, Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, Inc. .......... 72

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable J. Christian Kennedy: Prepared statement ................................. 6

Mr. Gideon Taylor: Prepared statement ................................................................ 26

Mr. Jehuda Evron: Prepared statement ................................................................ 40

Mr. Sidney Zabludoff: Prepared statement ........................................................... 43

Mr. Jack Rubin: Prepared statement ..................................................................... 46

Various articles .................................................................................................... 48

Mr. Alex Moskovic: Prepared statement ................................................................ 73

(1)

AMERICA’S ROLE IN ADDRESSING 

OUTSTANDING HOLOCAUST ISSUES 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2007

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:03 p.m. in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Robert Wexler (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. WEXLER. The Subcommittee on Europe will come to order. I 

want to thank Mr. Smith for joining with us today. There will be 

others, I know, that will be joining shortly. 

It is my privilege to represent one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations in the country, and it is my intention today to 

shed light on several unresolved Holocaust issues including the disappointing International Commission of Holocaust Era Insurance 

Claims (ICHEIC) process, unresolved property restitution issues in 

Central and Eastern Europe, the long overdue transfer of Holocaust archives from Bad Arolsen, and the outstanding pension benefits issues for survivors. More importantly, this hearing will focus 

on issues of concern to Holocaust survivors in the United States 

and globally, and examine what issues need to be addressed in the 

later years of their lives. 

It is self-evident that we have a unique obligation to survivors 

of the Holocaust. They are living victims of unconscionable atrocities, and their voices, desires, and concerns must be heard, respected, and addressed. 

Since the end of World War II, a concerted effort has been undertaken both in the United States and abroad at the government and 

nongovernmental levels to assist victims of Nazi atrocities. Billions 

have been paid out in compensation, restitution given to hundreds 

of thousands of survivors, stolen art and property returned to their 

rightful owners, and millions spent on Shoah documentation, education, and research. There has also been a concerted effort to ensure Holocaust remembrance, combat Holocaust denial and revisionism, and ensure that anti-Semitism and hatred in its darkest 

form do not appear again in Europe or around the globe. 

The American Jewish community, American Jewish organizations, the survivor community, and previous U.S. administrations, 

have worked with the international community and should be applauded for their Herculean effort which has often been painstakingly difficult, with many obstacles and setbacks, and at times met 

with strident opposition. 
2

Despite over a 60-year effort by courageous individuals, governments, and dedicated organizations to bring a measure of justice 

for Shoah victims, there remain several outstanding Holocaust 

issues that have yet to be resolved. 

First, it is critical that we address the unacceptable plight of survivors, including many who live below the poverty line and cannot 

afford adequate health insurance. According to a 2003 survey of 

American survivors by the UJA Federation, one-fourth of Holocaust 

survivors in America live below the poverty level. In Israel, an 

April 2007 report by the Holocaust Survivors Welfare Fund stated 

that nearly one-third of survivors live in poverty. 

This brings me to the issue of unmet Holocaust era claims. It is 

an indisputable fact that there are individuals, organizations, and 

companies that have unconscionably profited from the Holocaust. 

And while this state of affairs may never be fully rectified, it is imperative that we continue to seek a just resolution to these issues. 

Over the past several years, I have joined with my colleagues in 

a bipartisan fashion to correct past wrongs relating to the Holocaust, including working with organizations such as the Claims 

Conference on addressing onerous restrictions on German ghetto 

pensions, and calling for legislation to rectify Polish and Eastern 

European property restitution. We have also worked closely with 

survivor groups to address the unacceptably low percentage of 

claims awarded by ICHEIC, and the critical need to open the International Tracing Service archives in Bad Arolsen, Germany. 

In the course of these efforts, I was shocked to learn that the obstacles Holocaust survivors face are often insurmountable, and the 

claims process is wrapped in so many layers of bureaucracy that 

even the combined powers of Congress, the State Department, and 

the global efforts from Jewish and survivor organizations have fallen short of the desired outcome. 

To address the ICHEIC process that I believe has failed tens of 

thousands of survivors, I sponsored legislation, along with my colleague, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, which would require insurance companies doing business in the United States to publicly disclose all 

Holocaust era insurance policies. This legislation also allows Holocaust victims and descendents to bring action in U.S. courts to settle claims. 

Given ICHEIC’s glaring shortcomings, it is incumbent upon Congress to pass legislation that will provide a legal avenue for survivors to resolve outstanding cases. Congress must speak clearly 

that there will be no unjust enrichment from atrocities. In the 

words of Mr. David Schaecter, the Holocaust survivor who testified 

before this committee in March and joins with us today, ‘‘Restitution has a material and moral dimension,’’ and this hearing I hope 

will enable us to examine both of these dimensions today. 

I would now like to invite the ranking member, Mr. Gallegly 

from California, to give his opening remarks. 

Mr. GALLEGLY. I thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank 

you for calling this hearing. This is a very important hearing. And 

I would just like to say that I came really to hear from our witnesses today and I don’t have a formal written opening statement, 

but I want to go on record, Mr. Chairman. We have known a each 

other for a lot of years and we have worked together. In fact, we 
3

have taken turns using this chair, and I have great respect for you. 

And I can say, firsthand, I know of no one that has greater passion 

or commitment to this issue than you have, Mr. Chairman. And I 

respect that and I know the depth of that commitment, and that 

is why we have this hearing today. 

With that, I will thank you, and listen to our witnesses, and I 

yield back. 

Mr. WEXLER. I thank Mr. Gallegly for his kind words. 

Before we go to Mr. Kennedy, we are, in fact, joined by somebody 

who, on many, many issues relating to human rights across the 

globe, has been forefront, and I would like to give Mr. Smith a few 

minutes, if he wishes, to say a few words. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for calling this important and timely hearing, 

and for your deep and abiding concern in trying to provide in some 

small way a measure of justice for surviving victims of the Holocaust and in deciphering what America’s role ought to be in resolving outstanding Holocaust issues. And I do want to join you in welcoming Ambassador Kennedy, who is steadfast and well equipped 

to do this very, very important work. 

Mr. Chairman, very briefly, the Holocaust victims who are here 

with us today may have escaped death at the hands of the Nazis, 

but most of them lost everything they and their families had built 

over generations, including their homes, businesses, possessions, 

everything. The Nazis stole billions of dollars worth of assets from 

private citizens, much of which ended up in the banks in Western 

Europe. Many victims are still waiting to see at least a portion of 

what was taken from them, still waiting for the compensation that 

they deserve. It is our duty to do everything possible that we can 

do to help them receive it. 

For well over a decade, post-Communist countries in Central and 

Eastern Europe have struggled with the question of how to address 

wrongful confiscation of property. In some cases they have made 

progress, but in others, a lack of meaningful restitution has left 

claimants and all of us frustrated and angry. Over the past 10 

years, the United States and European Governments have played 

crucial roles in helping to settle lawsuits with the banks that held 

many stolen assets, bringing about payments of over $8 billion to 

victims of the Holocaust and their descendents. Many of my colleagues and I have pressed hard for years for these advances, traveling to Eastern and Central Europe to urge governments to pass 

nondiscriminatory laws that can be faithfully implemented. 

When I served, as you know, Mr. Chairman, as Helsinki chairman—now I am ranking member—I chaired 10 hearings and briefings on addressing property restitution issues since 1996, when we 

convened a very important hearing that examined competing property claims in post-Communist Europe. We also had a number of 

hearings on the rising tide of anti-Semitism and took that issue to 

the Parliamentary Assembly time and time again to try to get our 

colleagues in other Parliaments onboard to fight the scourge of 

anti-Semitism. We also received a steady stream of letters at the 

Helsinki Commission from individuals and groups pleading for assistance, and we took every one of those requests to heart and 

worked on them. 
4

While there has been some progress, the job is far from finished. 

As Holocaust survivors grow older and their medical and other 

needs increase, we need to increase our efforts to make sure these 

victims receive the compensation they deserve. These people are 

our friends and neighbors, and as we will hear today, reports indicate that over 120,000 Jewish victims of Nazi persecution live in 

the U.S. Some studies, as you pointed out in your opening, indicate 

that a quarter of them live in poverty. 

There are those who would like to move on and suggest that we 

have already done all that we can rightfully do over the last six 

decades, but I say we cannot, we cannot until justice is truly done, 

forget those individuals who have been so wronged. Not only have 

they lost loved ones and family to the Holocaust; their assets remain in wrongful hands. This is a very important hearing, and 

again, I thank you for calling it. 

Mr. WEXLER. It is my pleasure, Mr. Smith. 

With that, I want to, again, thank Mr. Gallegly for his kind 

words and for his devotion to these issues and to this subcommittee 

as well. 

I would like now to introduce our first witness, Ambassador J. 

Christian Kennedy, who has served as the Special Envoy for Holocaust issues at the Department of State since August 2006. Ambassador Kennedy is the principal adviser to Secretary Rice and to 

Deputy Secretary on foreign policy issues relating to the era of 

Nazi rule in Germany and Europe. 

Ambassador Kennedy’s office is responsible for restitution and 

claims issues resulting from the Holocaust, such as providing assistance to Holocaust survivors and their families, and encouraging 

the restitution of artwork and property to their rightful owners. 

His office also supports the State Department’s Special Envoy for 

monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, developing policies and 

programs to counter anti-Semitism, and working with European 

governments and nongovernmental organizations. 

Since joining the Foreign Service in 1980, Ambassador Kennedy 

has served in Washington, Poland, Mexico, Panama, Colombia and 

Guyana. 

Ambassador, thank you again for agreeing to come before our 

subcommittee. I would respectfully request that you please summarize your opening statements to no more than approximately 5 

minutes. Thank you so much. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE J. CHRISTIAN KENNEDY, 

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HOLOCAUST ISSUES, BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

STATE 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Thank you so much, Chairman Wexler, 

Ranking Member Gallegly, Representative Smith, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for the privilege of appearing before 

you today at this very important hearing. 

As Holocaust survivors age, we have less and less time to do 

what we can to help them receive a measure of justice in their lifetime. The survivor community is the principal constituency and 

major concern of my office. We focus on the restitution of property 

or, when that is not possible, a measure of compensation for lost 
5

property. Through our work on Holocaust education and remembrance, we hope that survivors and victims’ families feel that they 

have received a measure of compassion, too. 

All of us who work on these issues recognize from the outset that 

nothing we can do will really compensate the survivors and victims 

for the horrific and unfathomable evil that befell them in the Holocaust. I would like to use the title of Former Deputy Secretary of 

Treasury Stuart Eizenstat’s book to say that we recognize we are 

working for imperfect justice. 

Let me turn to property restitution and compensation. Since the 

mid-1990s, successive administrations have made it their policy to 

seek policy restitution and compensation for Holocaust survivors 

and victims’ heirs. In Western Europe, bilateral executive agreements with the United States and several countries’ judicial actions 

have delivered a measure of justice. We have made some progress 

on the issues, but much remains to be done. In the new European 

democracies, we have urged countries to pass comprehensive laws 

that do not discriminate among claimants by citizenship or ethnicity. 

In the years since I have been in my position, I have taken up 

this issue in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

Though many new democracies have passed laws, implementation remains something we have to urge our counterparts to undertake. There are moreover five countries that either have not passed 

laws or not put into place real implementation measures. They are 

Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Croatia, and Slovenia. 

Poland has not passed a compensation law for privately-owned 

land and buildings. I have been there half a dozen times, especially 

to consult with members of the Polish Parliament. There was some 

modest progress being made. Unfortunately, elections this month 

will cause further delays. I have received undertakings, however, 

from the biggest parties that they will take up a draft bill in the 

new Parliament. 

Lithuania has delayed a solution to Jewish communal properties 

for several years, though the government is again considering legislation. 

Romania has developed legislation for a compensation fund, but 

has not yet fully implemented it. I have met with officials there to 

urge action. 

Our Embassy in Zagreb, and I, have been told by Croatia’s political parties that they will take up a law following next month’s 

elections. 

Slovenia and the World Jewish Restitution Organization agreed 

to guide restitution with property inventories. There have been 

delays, but the WJRO feels progress is now possible. 

From the mid 1990s through 2001, we reached agreements with 

various Western European countries and companies to address 

theft of assets and slave labor. Let me review them briefly. The 

German Foundation paid $6 billion to 1.6 million victims of slave 

enforced labor. Another $500 million was paid to cover other losses, 

including insurance. I would also note that, over time, German governments have paid out through various programs nearly $100 billion at today’s values. The Austrian funds comprehend payments of 
6

about $1 billion. Some of these payments are still underway. The 

United States had an oversight role in the compensation for French 

bank accounts looted by the Vichy government. Over $30 million in 

payments were part of a more extensive French Government program. 

The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance 

Claims (ICHEIC) has made $300 million in payments to the beneficiaries of insurance policies, many of whom were survivors but 

many were also heirs. In addition, ICHEIC has allocated $200 million mainly for social welfare projects benefiting needy victims. For 

the most part, these projects are being administered by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany or the Claims 

Conference. 

I would also like to note the Swiss Bank Agreement for $1.25 billion. The negotiations facilitated by the State Department led to an 

agreement under the supervision of a Federal District Court here 

in the United States. 

Drawing on nearly a decade of experience, we believe that workable agreements and continuing dialogue best serves survivors’ interests as we seek to help them get a measure of justice. These 

mechanisms spare them the uncertainties and costs of litigation. 

Just 2 weeks ago, Germany announced it would pay out 100 million Euros to ghetto laborers. Six thousand people were recently 

added to the German pension scheme for survivors. The Claims 

Conference and my office have worked together on these issues. 

When I appeared last before your subcommittee on March 28, the 

focus was getting greater access to the Holocaust records at the 

International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen. I am pleased to report considerable progress, because nine countries of the 11 on the 

Commission have fully approved the Greater Access Rules. The 

French Senate did so last week. The Lower Chamber there is 

scheduled to take action today for a full vote next week. Greece, 

however, has yet to start its approval process, and I will visit the 

Greek Parliament in 2 weeks to urge action. 

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has received the 

first electronic data from the International Tracing Service, a huge 

step, the first time data has been sent here. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today. I will 

be happy to answer questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kennedy follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE J. CHRISTIAN KENNEDY, SPECIAL ENVOY

FOR HOLOCAUST ISSUES, BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DE- PARTMENT OF STATE

HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN AMERICA: AN OVERVIEW OF OUTSTANDING HOLOCAUST ISSUES

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Gallegly, thank you for holding this important 

hearing. 

The principal focus of the Office of Holocaust Issues in the State Department is 

to help Holocaust survivors and their heirs obtain a measure of justice in their lifetimes for the suffering they have endured and for the property that was stolen from 

them. 

Property Restitution 

The restitution to rightful owners of property confiscated by the Nazis in the 

countries they occupied, and often by the successor communist governments in those 

countries, is an issue successive administrations have engaged on since the mid-
7

1990s. Where the physical return of property may be impractical or impossible, we 

have advocated financial payments to the survivors and their heirs. 

Property restitution is a particularly difficult and time consuming issue and one 

on which we have had mixed results. Property restitution is at best a controversial 

subject. Changing the ownership and usage of buildings and land from one party 

to another can cause major disruptions that already-economically challenged countries can ill afford. It can involve the displacement of current occupants, who may 

have had the use of the property for over a half century. When the physical return 

of an actual piece of property is not possible, compensation in lieu of restitution can 

be a serious budgetary issue. So neither restitution nor compensation is likely to 

have a strong domestic constituency in those countries where there are large claims. 

Many countries in Eastern Europe succeeded in enacting and implementing some 

kind of legislation in the 1990s to deal with restitution, but some are still lagging. 

All the laws have shortcomings, and implementation has been uneven and often 

plagued with poor management. 

In the year that I have held this position, I have taken this issue up in Poland, 

Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

Property restitution is important as an indicator of a country’s commitment to 

property rights and a free market economy. Companies contemplating investments 

in a country will seek opportunities elsewhere if land titles are clouded with claims 

and potential claims by former owners. So, apart from the need for justice, there 

is also a strong economic incentive for a country to resolve these property issues in 

an expeditious and fair manner. 

It is important to keep in mind that each country has a slightly different property 

restitution situation. For that reason, there is no general solution which can be applied across the board to every country. Each country has had to take into account 

its own history, the nature of the property at issue, and political and economical 

constraints. Changing the ownership and usage of buildings and land from one 

party to another can cause major disruptions that already-economically challenged 

countries can ill afford. 

The United States, other countries and international organizations can offer encouragement and suggestions, but, in the final analysis, each individual country has 

to assess its own situation, make the necessary political judgments in drafting legislation and then implement the legislation in a manner consistent with the practices 

of that country. We feel, however, that diplomatic dialogue emphasizes for foreign 

government officials and the broader public in these countries the importance this 

issue has in our bilateral relations. This dialogue also reminds these audiences of 

the moral need for a measure of justice for victims and heirs, and it highlights the 

need to address problems in order to create a better functioning real estate market. 

Restitution laws generally deal with two basic categories of property: property 

that the authorities confiscated from private individuals, and property that the authorities confiscated from communal organizations such as religious groups. The latter category includes not only property used essentially for religious purposes but 

also the schools, communal halls, medical facilities and recreational facilities that 

many European religious organizations maintained in the first four decades of the 

20th century. 

In encouraging restitution, we try to keep in mind the following considerations:

• Restitution laws should govern both communal and private property.

• Access to archival records needed for claims should be easy and facilitated by 

the government in question.

• Uniform enforcement of laws is necessary throughout a country.

• The restitution process must be non-discriminatory. There should be no residence or citizenship requirement.

• Legal procedures should be clear and simple.

• Privatization programs should include protections for claimants.

• Governments need to make provisions for current occupants of restituted 

property.

• When restitution of property is not possible, realistic compensation should be 

paid.

• Restitution should result in clear title to the property, not merely the right 

to use the property.

• Cemeteries and other religious sites should be protected from desecration or 

misuse before and during the restitution process.

For several years, the Department has maintained a country-by-country summary 

of property restitution in European countries. An updated version is available for 
8

you here today, and is also posted on our website. I would highlight a few specific 

developments briefly: 

Poland. Poland, which I have visited several times this past year, has been a particular focal point. On each visit I have taken this up with the foreign ministry and 

the treasury, but most importantly with members of Poland’s parliament, the Sejm. 

While many Sejm members were generally supportive, the political situation in Poland for the past two years has been fragile. Both the President and the Prime Minister gave assurances that property restitution was on their agenda, but the government did not feel confident enough to push forward legislation past an initial reading in the Sejm. In September, the government decided to call elections. When the 

new government is in place, we will renew our effort on this issue. 

Croatia. Croatia is now a candidate for NATO membership. The government decided in 2005 to change its restitution law, but has since made little progress. Like 

Poland, this is an issue that Croatia will have to deal with following its upcoming 

election. 

Romania. Allegations of fraud and mismanagement have clouded Romania’s modest progress on property restitution. A fund to pay compensation has not yet been 

fully implemented. 

Slovenia. A promising solution to a communal restitution problem in Slovenia has 

been delayed by issues regarding the completion of a survey of the properties in 

question. We hope for progress by December. 

Lithuania. A solution to the Jewish communal property issue has been delayed 

for several years and the government is now again considering legislation. 

Art Restitution 

In addition to real property, the restitution of movable property—particularly artwork—is an important issue. Art claims have generally been adjudicated by the 

courts, although less formal proceedings have also been successful in some cases. 

The United States strongly supports the Washington Conference Principles on NaziConfiscated Art, adopted by consensus at the 1998 Washington Conference on Nazi 

Era Assets. 

A Measure of Justice 

Let me turn now to the various arrangements reached among the representatives 

of Holocaust survivors and European companies in the late 1990s through 2001 to 

address the theft of assets and other wrongs arising from the Holocaust. A combination of court settlements and other U.S.-facilitated agreements resulted in over $8 

billion for Holocaust victims and their heirs from Swiss banks, German companies, 

Austrian companies, and French banks, as well as several large European insurance 

companies. Most of these agreements were concluded with the participation of European governments and the U.S. Government. 

As of today, nearly all of the $8 billion from these agreements has been either 

distributed to survivors and heirs or otherwise obligated for continuing programs to 

support needy survivors or promote Holocaust education and remembrance. There 

were some delays in implementation at the outset, largely due to the complexities 

of the agreements and some legal issues that arose in U.S. courts. Nevertheless, as 

the person in charge of the office in the Department of State responsible for monitoring and advising on implementation, I think we can be proud of the results. 

Let me briefly summarize the payments programs. I and my predecessors in this 

office have monitored and overseen agreements relating to the following programs:

• The German Foundation, which made $6 billion in payments to 1.6 million 

former slave and forced laborers, as well as to those who suffered other injuries. The German Foundation also made $500 million in payments for certain 

property losses, including insurance.

• The Austrian Labor Fund (Reconciliation Fund), which paid out $330 million.

• The Austrian Tenancy Rights Fund, which paid out $150 million to compensate some 20,000 Jewish victims for the loss of household and small business leases and goods.

• The Austrian General Settlement Fund, which is paying out $210 million for 

other property losses not covered in the Tenancy Rights agreement. In addition, The General Settlement Fund includes an agreement regarding the 

physical return of real property, which we cannot now value but it is likely 

to be more than $30 to $50 million.

• The Austrian Pension Fund expansion to include enhanced nursing home care 

for Jewish non-residents forced to emigrate during the Nazi period, valued to 

pay out some $112 million over a decade.
9

• The French Funds which have provided over $30 million in payments to victims and heirs, largely for property losses.

• The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) 

has made $300 million in payments to the beneficiaries of insurance policies, 

many of whom are survivors but some are the heirs of survivors. In addition, 

ICHEIC has allocated $200 million mainly for social welfare projects benefiting needy victims. For the most part these projects are being administered 

by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims, or the Claims Conference.

• Finally, I would like to note also the Swiss bank agreement of $1.25 billion. 

The negotiations, facilitated by the State Department, led to a settlement of 

class action lawsuits, and that agreement is under the supervision of a federal district court. A similar class action settlement of claims against Austrian banks resulted in additional payments of $40 million.

Thus, approximately $8 billion have been made available to Holocaust victims and 

their heirs in recent years. These programs have largely been completed and the 

funds paid out or allocated and will be paid out very soon. We anticipate that the 

Austrian General Settlement Fund will complete payments sometime in the year 

2008. 

With so much loss of life and the horrors of the Holocaust, there can never be 

adequate compensation to the victims, particularly at this late date. Our work surely embodies an effort to obtain ‘‘imperfect justice.’’ But I am confident that the results we achieved could not have been approached, let alone achieved, had the victims and heirs been left to contend with the uncertainties and costs of litigation. 

ICHEIC 

We recognize that some continue to express disappointment with these agreements or their implementation. For example, there are some who believe that the 

process for paying insurance claims was inadequate. We at the State Department 

view with understanding the difficulties that the ICHEIC had to overcome, and we 

also must defer our own assessment to that of those survivor organizations and 

state insurance regulators closest to the ICHEIC process. In this regard, I note that 

at ICHEIC’s concluding board meeting in March, there was unanimity among the 

survivor organizations and the state regulators on the success of the ICHEIC process. I would also note that the ICHEIC process proceeded with remarkable fairness 

and transparency. This is clear from the extensiveness of its web site at 

www.icheic.org, which includes a comprehensive final report and extensive documentation regarding its rules of procedure. I urge all who are interested to read the 

documents available on the ICHEIC web site, particularly those under the heading 

‘‘Final Reports.’’

Finally, with ICHEIC, as with any of the recent arrangements, there have been 

concerns that the amount of money available was not enough. Again, let me stress 

that what was achieved was imperfect, and no amount of money could ever be 

enough. But in addition, it is worth noting that survivor organizations and advocates for victims played a crucial role in each and every negotiation during the recent years, and their judgment regarding what was possible and what was appropriate should also be taken into account. 

We believe the survivors’ interests are best served through continued cooperation 

with European countries and companies on Holocaust issues, and not through confrontation. As I outline below, we have already achieved additional benefits for Holocaust victims through such cooperation. I am referring to the recent expansion of 

the German pensions program. This expansion of an existing program demonstrates 

that cooperation through diplomacy leads to quick results. Confrontation and litigation do not, and time is an urgent issue for elderly survivors. We believe that 

ICHEIC has already achieved many of the objectives being sought through proposed 

legislation. At this point, we believe legislation would not be helpful and would 

interfere with the work we are doing. It would also create significant foreign relations problems for the United States. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss 

this matter further with you. 

German Payment Programs Since the Second World War 

Some may understandably still ask this question: How can we as a government 

and nation be satisfied with merely $8 billion in payments to Holocaust victims and 

heirs? However, it is important to view these recent payments in the context of numerous other programs introduced by Germany since the Second World War. German governments have established several programs and paid out some 64 billion 

Euro (over $100 billion in today’s dollars) in compensation and restitution to victims 

of Nazi crimes. Of course, while recognizing what Germany has done, we must al-
10

ways acknowledge that no amount of money could ever compensate for the atrocities 

of the Holocaust. 

Recent Expansion of German Pensions Programs 

Some programs continue even today and have been expanded in the last few 

weeks through negotiations between the German Government and the Conference 

on Jewish Material Claims, or the Claims Conference. I am referring in this regard 

to new pensions for an estimated 6,000 survivors worldwide, including many in the 

United States. In support of Claims Conference negotiations with the German Government, I met in Berlin with German officials on three occasions to press for an 

expansion of the pensions programs. We have achieved a substantial improvement. 

The total payout over the next ten years in new pensions is estimated to be $250 

million. This is a major expansion, perhaps the largest single expansion ever, of the 

pension program for survivors. In addition, following discussions with the Claims 

Conference, Chancellor Merkel established a new program to make one-time payments of 2,000 Euros ($2,800) to an estimated 50,000 survivors worldwide who had 

worked in ghettos, another significant expansion of the program to provide payments to such workers. 

Other efforts to secure compensation and restitution are underway. The United 

States is now consulting with a number of European Governments to organize a follow-up to the 1998 Washington Conference that laid a foundation for Holocaust-era 

compensation and restitution principles. The U.S. will continue to address restitution /compensation issues. 

Holocaust Education and Remembrance 

While today’s focus is on the State Department’s work on Holocaust restitution 

and efforts to address the injustices suffered by so many, it is also important to 

mention U.S. leadership in promoting Holocaust education and remembrance. Without such efforts, future generations will not be aware of the tragedy of the Holocaust, or learn the lessons it teaches us. 

Since my March 28 testimony before this Committee on the subject of the International Tracing Service (ITS), the United States has steadfastly continued its push 

to make the Bad Arolsen archives more accessible to Holocaust survivors and victims’ families. The archives, which are managed by the International Red Cross and 

located in Germany, are the most comprehensive source of documents regarding the 

fate of the victims. At the ITS International Commission meeting this past May, the 

11 member states agreed to make an advance electronic copy of the collection available to member states that need to harmonize their national repository’s computer 

system with the ITS data—in our case the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The 

first tranche of the advance transfer took place this August. This step is the first 

time that ITS archival data has been transferred outside of Bad Arolsen, and is a 

hugely important, indeed an irreversible, step toward making the archive freely 

available outside of Germany. We will continue to press France and Greece to ratify 

the provisions expeditiously so that the agreement can come fully into force, allowing vastly expanded accessibility to the data for survivors and scholars. Our Embassy in Paris informed me that the French Senate approved that country’s ratification last week. 

Conclusion 

The subject of Holocaust property restitution and compensation schemes is certainly complex and difficult. There is no question that results have been mixed. For 

every property that has been restituted, payments made for slave or forced labor, 

stolen art work returned, or unclaimed insurance or bank account settled, there 

have been instances of foot-dragging and questions of fairness and implementation. 

But it is important to note that progress has indeed been made. Without U.S. leadership, many Holocaust survivors and heirs would still be embroiled in protracted 

court battles, and none of the recent advances would have been likely. The Swiss 

Bank Settlement, the German Foundation, Austrian Funds, the French Bank Agreement, and ICHEIC have cumulatively resulted in payments to over two million recipients, most of whom had insufficient legal documentation to prove any claims. 

The U.S. Government’s position has always been to strive for a measure of justice 

and that is exactly what we continue to do. 

There is indeed more work to be done on the issue of property restitution and 

compensation. I will continue to urge all the parties involved to continue their efforts and fulfill their commitments. In this area we can certainly use your help as 

Members of Congress in pressing your counterparts abroad to adopt or implement 

fair and transparent laws on this issue. 
11

Chairman Wexler, Ranking Member Gallogly, Members of the Committee, thank 

you again for the opportunity to testify before you today. I’d be happy to answer 

any questions you may have.

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Ambassador Kennedy. 

I want to thank Mr. Costa for joining with us. More than anything, I want to thank you for your testimony but especially for 

your personal devotion to these issues. You have highlighted, I 

think, several of the personal efforts that you have made and I and 

others are undoubtedly very grateful to you for your personal dedication. 

I would first like to ask you, in the context of ICHEIC—if I understand the figures correctly, the ICHEIC process, which closed 

down earlier this year, resulted in a bit more than $300 million 

being offered, paid to roughly 48,000 Holocaust survivors. Estimates I have seen, and there are different valuations, but the most 

generous estimates I have seen put that as representing roughly 

between 3 percent and 5 percent of the policies that were sold to 

Jewish people at the beginning of World War II; and, that the unpaid value of insurance is billions of dollars more. And the estimates are wide, but there is clearly at least 90 percent of the value, 

it seems, of these life insurance policies that remains unpaid and 

unaccounted for. 

I was taken aback, to put it mildly, reading the administration’s 

response to Senator Bill Nelson’s series of questioning regarding 

the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act, where the administration opposes the opening up, in essence, of a Federal Action to 

allow these Holocaust survivors who have been, it would appear, 

denied justice in the ICHEIC process, an opportunity to address 

their grievance in a United States court. The administration opposes that effort. The administration, in arguing its opposition, has 

in essence said that the purpose of ICHEIC has been largely accomplished. And I am at a loss to understand even if on some other 

grounds that argument does not support this legislation. 

The idea that the administration can rationally conclude that 

ICHEIC has accomplished its purpose, when it seems quite evident 

that an overwhelming majority of insurance policies that were sold 

at the time have not been addressed—how can the administration 

argue that position? And I say this with the utmost amount of respect, please. I do not suggest this question as a criticism of either 

you or any of the individuals who have dedicated themselves for so 

long to bring a sense of justice to survivors. But as a third party 

looking in, one can’t help but conclude at this point that maybe 

some of the very well-meaning people engaged in this process are 

so invested in the process itself that they have lost sight of what 

the objective was at the beginning. 

And the objective, respectfully, was not to make foreign relations 

between the United States and other countries better or worse in 

any way. It wasn’t designed to make any other foreign nation comfortable with the outcome. I believe there was only one goal, and 

that was to permit Holocaust survivors an opportunity to gain a 

percentage at least of what was taken from them. And now we see 

that process closed. ICHEIC has shut its door, and roughly 95 percent of policies, at least, remain outstanding. 
12

We, on a bipartisan basis, have come up with an alternative; the 

administration, unfortunately, opposes it. And yesterday we had a 

wonderful ruling from the Second Circuit that in essence would in 

theory support the ideology of the legislation, which is that in 

America there is an opportunity, or there ought to be an opportunity, for people who have been wronged to seek redress in our 

courts. 

So if you can address the administration’s opposition, please do. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Thank you very much for that question, 

Mr. Chairman. I think it is a very important one, and I certainly 

understand and my colleagues understand the sentiments that are 

behind that question. 

The negotiations for compensation that led to ICHEIC were terribly intricate, balancing negotiations between governments, private individuals, NGOs, and companies, of course. 

One of the comforts that I take from the ICHEIC process is the 

integrity and stature of the people who made it up. The presence 

of Chairman Eagleburger, former Secretary of State, someone who 

basically came out of retirement committed to advancing the cause 

of getting some compensation for the victims and survivors who 

had insurance policies that couldn’t be demonstrated, that was the 

big one. Things that couldn’t be demonstrated. People like Roman 

Kent and Moshe Sanbar, who are Holocaust survivors themselves, 

who represented respectively the WJRO and the Claims Conference 

as well as their personal capacity. 

The State Insurance Commissioners who took part who were invested not only politically but also morally in their commitment to 

helping survivors. These people looked at a tremendous array of details, including various valuation schemes, as I understand it. 

There is a top-down approach, which would use present-day patterns of insurance holdings, as I understand it, and then there was 

a bottom-up approach based on asset declarations that people were 

forced to make when the Nazis, for example, came into Austria and 

ordered all Jews to make asset declarations that included insurance policies and other financial holdings. 

So there were a lot of methodologies. They made considerable efforts to put together something that would work. And this is, after 

all, for life insurance that was basically undocumentable. These are 

undocumentable claims. 

The frustration that knowing there was a claim there—or that 

there was a policy there and not being able to claim it I think had 

to weigh very heavily on the minds of the people who wanted to 

make those claims. We certainly recognize that. 

In order to achieve a settlement scheme that ICHEIC grew out 

of, we had to promise legal peace to the companies involved in the 

scheme, the Austrian and German insurance companies. That was 

the quid pro quo. And once that crossed, they contributed monies 

to the payments. You are absolutely right, $300 million went to 

about 48,000 claimants. Another number of claimants did not receive payment. ICHEIC did all of the research to make those payments possible, often going into national archives, insurance company archives. In many cases, they made payments because someone had a story that sounded right. 
13

Now, there are lots of other kinds of insurance that weren’t considered. For example, casualty insurance for businesses or for other 

kinds of property. And acts of war are usually exclusions in those 

kinds of policies. Obviously, the people who held those policies did 

not receive—probably did not receive payments for the accidents 

that befell them. 

I hope that gives you a flavor of why we think that we have to 

have the position we have on the proposed legislation. 

Mr. WEXLER. I am going to follow up, but I am going to miss the 

first vote so I am going to give Mr. Smith the opportunity. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Ambassador Kennedy, you mentioned that you have taken up the 

issue in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia. I know you are making a Herculean effort to 

raise this issue and to press whatever buttons have to be pressed 

to get them to finally act, and several of our witnesses do criticize 

Poland and some of these countries for not taking action. But I remember so well, on July 18, 1996, when I had Stuart Eizenstat sitting right where you are sitting, who was then the Under Secretary 

of Commerce for International Trade, and he made a statement 

about the Czech Republic, how they have done many positive 

things in the restitution area. He talked about their 1991 Property 

Restitution Law. And he went on and on and said there were still 

problems particularly with Americans and citizenship laws, and 

the fact that people who were here had a problem with discriminatory citizenship laws. 

But he did say—and this is him speaking:

‘‘In almost every country I have gone to, I would say in virtually every country I have gone to, I have met either with 

Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers, other senior 

ministers. There is a genuine interest now in resolving this 

issue and coming up to Western norms.’’

That was in 1996. 

And for the Holocaust victims and their descendents, how long 

can they wait? Is there any reasonable reason to believe that the 

countries that you mentioned really are on the verge of finally closing the door by doing what is right, providing at least adequate 

restitution to those who survived? And the Czech Republic in particular? All the hopes got raised, and from year to year, as one of 

the witnesses pointed out with Poland, year in and year out there 

is hope; legislation is pending, and then nothing. Could you speak 

to the Czech Republic? 

I remember when Eizenstat said that. We all said, wow, maybe 

we are finally close to coming to terms with this in these European 

countries. How many years ago was that? 1996. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Thank you very much for that question. 

I will have to say that in our office, we share a lot of the disappointment and frustration that people feel on these issues. In my 

visit to the Czech Republic, I wanted to consult with the Jewish 

community there about a couple of pending issues. I met with the 

lay members of the community, offered the services of the Office of 

the Special Envoy, my personal intervention, and was told, ‘‘We 
14

think we have got it under control.’’ There are a relatively small 

number of issues. They are high value, but they prefer to work 

them on their own. 

In general, I think that we have to recognize that compensation 

and restitution are very, very difficult issues, particularly in the 

new democracies. On top of World War II, you then add the Communist period and you are 60 years away from the original confiscation, the original injustice, and it becomes harder and harder 

every year. 

I think that one of the most effective things that we can do is 

keep working with our European friends, reminding them that this 

isn’t an issue that a small number of people care about. Americans 

in general are very, very conscious of justice, fair play. These are 

things we care deeply about. And the broader view that they can 

receive of American society, the better off we are going to be, the 

more it will help us advance these issues. 

Access generally to officials is not the problem. The problem is 

that legislation is difficult. It gets caught up in other legislative 

fights. And, regrettably, that pushes the ball down the road. One 

of my messages constantly when I meet with legislators is, we don’t 

have much time. Holocaust victims, or Holocaust survivors and victims’ heirs are not getting any younger. Thank you. 

Mr. WEXLER. Again to my colleagues, I am going to miss the first 

vote so I am going to continue through. And I believe there is a 

motion to recommit, which will be debated, and then another 15-

minute vote. I would be happy to go to Mr. Engel now if he wished, 

or is he going to go vote? 

Mr. ENGEL. I am going to go vote. I will be back. 

Mr. WEXLER. Great. 

If I could follow up, Mr. Ambassador, on the issue of ICHEIC, a 

couple of points which I think deserve discussion. One of your 

points was that, to a large degree, policies were not capable of 

being documented. That is partially true in that the insureds may 

not have the documentation, but the companies in many of these 

cases do. And it is the position of many of the survivors that, 

throughout the ICHEIC process, the survivors were denied access 

by the companies to the very documents that would prove their 

claims. And combine this with the case determined yesterday in 

which the Second Circuit in essence said, to that very issue, as I 

read it, survivors deserve their day in court. 

The bill that Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen and I filed awards not a single 

penny to any one survivor. All it does is give each and every survivor an opportunity to go to court to prove his or her claim given 

the legal avenues that claimants have in the United States. So I 

am surprised, and I am trying to intellectually resolve, how we say 

the objective of ICHEIC was to provide a remedy for unresolved insurance claims. We have the history of ICHEIC. I think we do not 

dispute that most of the insurance policies that existed have not 

been addressed. 

So to now with finality say that is it; we need to be honest. The 

administration’s position is a final one, which, in essence, says that 

95 percent of survivors will not have their day in court or in any 

other tribunal to prove that they had insurance policies. And how 
15

we as a community of just people land in that position is what is 

astonishing to me. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. The issue that you raise, again, I go back 

to what I said before. The people who were part of the ICHEIC 

process, the staff, the personalities represented on the board, were 

all deeply committed to the survivors. 

Mr. WEXLER. No question. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. And their integrity, I think, is unimpeachable. And they had access to the files. They audited the files 

in their search, because often someone would say, well, we know 

of examples. ICHEIC of course was its own entity, but they often 

shared anecdotes with us. And I have heard, for example, that 

someone would file and say, my father had a policy with such-andsuch company. They would go in to the files and they would find 

out it wasn’t company X, in fact, it was company Z, and they would 

make the payments based on the company Z policy. So it was a 

process that tried to do as much as possible. 

One of the conclusions I draw from ICHEIC, the ICHEIC process, 

is that you can have all the goodwill in the world, do the very best 

you can, but sometimes you are just not going to, in restitution 

work, have the elements to make decisions on. And the people who 

went through the files were trying very, very hard. They were 

doing their best. And these were professionals. They took their 

caseload, they resolved it. And it is just, I think in the area of 

undocumentable claims, they probably went as far as they could. 

Now, the insurance companies have said that if people have a 

specific claim against a specific company, they will process it with 

ICHEIC-like criteria. I asked one of the attorneys for one of the 

larger companies if they had had any claims or if he knew of any 

claims. This is an attorney here in Washington. He said that, to 

the best of his knowledge, no claims have been filed yet. I don’t 

want to put too much analysis on that fact, but I do think it means 

we may have come to the end of the possibilities. 

Mr. WEXLER. Would you agree with me that to the extent that 

claims are, in fact, undocumented, no one will receive any benefit 

or will be able to receive any benefit from Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen’s and 

my legislation? Because, in fact, if it is undocumented in ICHEIC’s 

process, if that process was accurate, they will not be able to document it in a Federal court in the United States. The result will be 

the same. The only way the result will be different is if, given the 

opportunity of going into Federal court, that claimant is able to establish some level of proof, far more probably in a Federal court 

than in some instances of what you described at ICHEIC. 

So I am, again, curious. Other than the cost of the legal fees—

which I understand at times can be somewhat onerous—other than 

that, we are not seeking to create anything other than an opportunity, but the administration has reached a determination apparently that all opportunities have been evaluated by well-intentioned people. 

So, therefore, it is unreasonable to assume, is your position, that 

there is any claim that yet exists that can be documented. I mean, 

is that a fair statement of where we stand? 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Well, I think I might put it a little differently. 
16

Mr. WEXLER. Please. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. An enormous body of very good work was 

done by ICHEIC under the direction of its board and by its staff. 

They, it would seem, exploited the possibilities that were there in 

benefit of survivors. 

In order to get to that settlement which paid concrete benefits to 

48,000 survivors and heirs, we had to make certain undertakings 

in our agreements, and one of those undertakings was that we 

would seek legal peace on behalf of the insurance companies involved in Austria and Germany. 

Mr. WEXLER. The actual numbers with respect to ICHEIC—and 

let’s make sure you and I are dealing with the same basic set of 

facts, and if we are not, please tell me where I have got it wrong—

as I understand it, ICHEIC companies recognized and made offers 

on a total of only 17,000 insurance policies in force between 1920 

and 1945. In addition to those 17,000 policies, ICHEIC made 

31,000 payments of $1,000 each, and they were viewed as humanitarian payments, which may have been something similar to what 

you spoke about where someone came in and the story seemed 

right. 

So if you accept those numbers as being accurate, which I believe 

are ICHEIC’s numbers, then what we are left with is that ICHEIC 

has paid less than 3 percent of the value of unpaid insurance policies owned by Jewish people at the beginning of World War II. And 

if you use a different valuation, maybe the 3 percent goes to 5 percent. 

So where we stand is we either defend and hold to a process of 

well-intentioned people, undoubtedly, that resulted in the forfeiture 

of what might be 95 percent of the value of the life insurance policies; or, as an alternative, we do what Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen and I 

suggest we do, and that is open up a Federal course of action for 

people under court supervision to engage in a litigation posture 

with the insurance companies that have the information and stand 

to be liable under the regular rules of Federal procedure. 

And still, it is the administration’s position—and I don’t want to 

keep belaboring the same point, but in effect, we must because that 

is the administration’s position—that, as you say, there was a process and the process achieved its outcome. 

Was the outcome supposed to be that 5 percent or 3 percent of 

the values of the insurance policies be recognized and paid? Was 

that the perceived outcome when this quid pro quo was made that 

you spoke about earlier, which was, ‘‘We’ll engage in a process and 

the end result will be no more litigation’’? Was that what was assumed would be the case? 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Mr. Chairman, thank you for that question. I am not sure that there was a foreordained outcome to the 

process. They went as far as the facts would take them. 

Now, when it comes to these valuations, I have also had to try 

to familiarize myself with them. I think the ICHEIC Web site, 

their very excellent and thorough-going final report provides insights into their thinking on how things worked. As I say, the best 

way I can characterize it, not being an economic historian, is one 

set of valuations was arrived at in a sort of top-down fashion, what 

should it be, then how do you distribute it? And the other was 
17

based on documentation that went from the bottom up, building 

the numbers. And I believe ICHEIC felt that they had done the 

right thing in getting to their numbers. Thank you. 

Mr. WEXLER. For the record, I am repeating myself, but I don’t 

want there to be even an inference that I am questioning either the 

credibility or the integrity of anyone involved in this process. Just 

the opposite. But even in your last response, you talk about that 

there is a very complex and difficult process, and that you believe 

and are confident that ICHEIC and the people involved went as far 

as they could with the information they had. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. And I believe that they also thought that 

not only have they gone as far as they could, but that it was a thorough-going search. 

Mr. WEXLER. If that, in fact, is the case—then again other 

than—I realize the inconvenience of being a defendant in a lawsuit, 

but on such a monumental question as to whether or not survivors 

have, in fact, reached justice, they have nothing to fear; they will 

have paid everything that should have justly been paid. Only will 

they owe more money if someone is able to document a claim that 

for whatever reason wasn’t able to be documented in the ICHEIC 

process. 

And there are, I think, people of equal credibility with the same 

integrity who have said that process did not work; ‘‘I did not have 

access’’; ‘‘I was not able to document and, therefore, as an American citizen, I ought to have a right to go to Federal court.’’ And 

it is the Congress, of course, ultimately that determines what is a 

Federal Action or not. But having the person responsible in the administration for these issues oppose this effort is obviously an extraordinary hurdle to overcome. 

If I could just follow with what Mr. Smith said, and up the ante 

a little bit: On restitution issues, like Mr. Smith said, I was with 

I think Chairman Gilman on my first trip that I ever took as a 

Member of Congress. We were in Poland and some other places in 

1997, and we were talking about restitution. And the Polish Government at the time said, ‘‘Soon, very soon this political dynamic 

needs to happen. Wait for this election. Wait for this part of our 

economy to be a bit more robust.’’

Poland is an important, extraordinary ally of the United States 

of America. It has worked hand in hand with us on many important trans-Atlantic issues, and many important issues beyond the 

trans-Atlantic relationship. The American-Polish relationship is 

solid. It is important. It is an integral part of our foreign policy relationships. But the Polish Government has been telling us this for 

more than a decade. So, when do we, as close allies and close 

friends, up the ante with the Polish Government so that they understand that we are truly committed, in the last hours that the 

generation of survivors will be with us, to, on the restitution issue, 

reach a resolution? Do you have any suggestions? Even if those 

suggestions are to be accomplished by others than those in the administration, do you have any suggestions as to what we in the 

Congress might do to impress upon our friends in Poland that this 

is an issue that is central to our bilateral relationship and that 

thus far has been totally unsatisfactory? 
18

Ambassador KENNEDY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question. I think it is an extremely important one. 

The reply, I guess I would say, is that the more the Polish legislators who have to pass this law realize exactly what you said, that 

this is a core issue for Americans, then that helps move progress 

forward, I think. Obviously, the Embassy and I will both be back 

on the doorstep of the Sejm as soon as there is a new government 

in place asking, ‘‘When are you going to do something about this 

law?’’ The work—a lot of work was done on the draft law, and I 

think that there is a lot that a new Sejm could take away—well, 

the just expired draft and work on it. It is a question of letting 

them know how important this is to us. 

Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Ambassador, you have been very kind and 

courteous to be with us. If I could just maybe ask your counsel in 

a public way. Is there anything we could do in mine and Ms. RosLehtinen’s bill that would persuade the administration to support 

it rather than oppose it? Understanding that there is what appears 

to be a difference in principle, is there a way in which we could 

implement a Federal cause of action or some other remedy that 

might be available that would be meaningful to the survivors and 

that the administration could support at this point in time? 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Thank you very much for that question. 

We feel that the best way to get things done in the area of helping 

survivors in their old age is to keep working with the governments 

through dialogue by coming up with workable agreements that the 

parties to the agreements can live with. In the case of the ICHEIC 

agreements, we promised legal peace. Or the agreements, more 

properly, the agreements that led to ICHEIC. We promised—we 

promised legal peace. What we got was a huge substantial payment 

to a group of survivors. Now, was it enough? It is never enough. 

Was it comprehensive enough? I don’t think anyone would argue 

that. There are undoubtedly cases that fell through the cracks. But 

it was a substantial set of financial payments made to a group of 

people who probably were at utter despair that they would ever receive anything. 

So I think it was a good agreement, it was a good process that 

came out of the bilateral executive agreements with Austria and 

Germany. It is important to keep working on those kinds of things, 

looking for ways that we can help. 

I certainly understand the spirit and the desire to help survivors 

that is driving the legislation right now, but the problems that—

one is the legal peace that was part of our earlier agreement. The 

second part is we feel just as a matter of principle, if you can come 

to agreements with companies, with governments and get payment 

for survivors, financial payments for survivors, in the end, that is 

something that is better than going to court with all the uncertainties and costs that that entails. So we want to continue to work 

with survivors, work with the Congress on ways to have agreements that will help us benefit survivors, sir. Thank you. 

Mr. WEXLER. Again, I thank you for your responsiveness, and I 

promise this won’t be my last question. But when I go home and 

I appear before various groups of either survivor groups or other 

groups that have survivors in them or survivors’ family members, 

if I said the statement you just said and said, ‘‘Listen, the ICHEIC 
19

process was agreed to; we, the United States, agreed to legal peace, 

they agreed to process all claims. And a substantial’’—I think that 

was the word you used—‘‘a substantial payment has been made,’’ 

some very earnest man or woman is going to stand up and say, 

‘‘Wexler, how can you tell me that paying less than 5 percent of the 

value of the policies is substantial?’’ And you bandy about this 

number of $300 million that may seem like a lot of money, but it 

is an infinitesimality, if that is the right word, of the value of what 

those policies represent. 

So I understand we promised legal peace. But what did they 

promise? What did they promise? If you could share that with me. 

And how do we define the payments as substantial in this context? 

And I will be done, I promise. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Well, I am always happy to answer your 

questions, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for that one. And, indeed, 

I look forward to working with your staff or you on further details 

if that is necessary. I plan to visit South Florida sometime this 

year or early next year, and I imagine I had better be ready for 

some questions. 

I think that there is a payment, and we can talk about the adjectives to describe it, $300 million to survivors. There was also 

around $170 million paid into social programs for needy survivors 

that are administered by the Claims Conference. There was a remnant of money left, I believe it was $26 million, that Chairman 

Eagleburger wanted to put into the hands of social programs, and 

that is why he closed ICHEIC down rather than continue to run 

up expenses, and the fact that the work appeared to be done. 

So, yes. Was it a perfect process? No. But it was a process to address a set of issues that probably were never addressed before. 

People who had documentation, who could get at documentation 

were able to get insurance claims processed in many cases. This 

was for the people who had no evidence and, as such, I think it was 

a process that met its goals. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being here. Thank 

you for agreeing to come before the subcommittee, and thank you 

for your patience and what I think is your earnest attempt at answering the questions. And, again, I would like to end where I 

started, which is I greatly respect and admire your personal commitment to these issues. And thank you very much. 

Ambassador KENNEDY. Thank you very much for those kinds 

words, Mr. Chairman. It was a pleasure to be here. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you. At this point in time, I would like to 

begin the second round of witnesses. Before that, without objection, 

a statement by former Secretary Eagleburger that would be submitted to the subcommittee will be made a part of the record. 

[NOTE: Information referred to was not received by the subcommittee prior to printing.] 

Mr. WEXLER. And at this point, as Ambassador Kennedy leaves 

us, I would like to invite up the second panel of witnesses. 

By way of organization, this is the second vote in a series of 

three votes. In about 6 minutes I am going to have to leave and 

go cast a vote and there will be one quick vote after that. So what 

I would like to do is just read through the introductions of our five 

panelists and then recess for what I hope will be no longer than 
20

10–15 minutes; then I will be back and I believe other members of 

the subcommittee will be back as well. And I thank the gentlemen 

and those with us for your patience. 

At this point I would like to introduce our second panel of witnesses. 

Mr. Gideon Taylor is the executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Since 1999, 

Mr. Taylor has overseen numerous restitution negotiations and 

funds distributions, including the creation of a $4.5 billion German 

Foundation Remembrance Responsibility in the Future, which was 

established to assist and compensate Holocaust victims. Mr. Taylor 

has also overseen the creation of Claims Conference programs designed to compensate refugees and victims of Nazi medical experimentation. Mr. Taylor, along with the Claims Conference, continues to negotiate for the expansion of other pension and one-time 

payment programs, recover unclaimed Jewish property in former 

East Germany, and distribute more than $100 million in institutional grants annually. 

Prior to joining the Claims Conference, Mr. Taylor served as assistant executive vice president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee which was involved in Operation Solomon, relocating 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, and rescue work in 

Yemen and Syria. 

Mr. Jehuda Evron is the president of the Holocaust Restitution 

Committee, which is the leading international body advocating for 

restitution of Holocaust era seized properties in Poland. The Holocaust Restitution Committee represents 3,000 Holocaust survivors 

from all over the world who lost their families and whose assets 

were stolen by the Nazis. Mr. Evron has testified before the Helsinki Commission and the European Union Parliament in Brussels 

on policy restitution issues. 

Mr. Evron survived World War II in Romania, including a pogrom in which he lost many members of his own family. His wife 

is from Poland and survived the Tarnau ghetto in hiding. Mr. 

Evron’s family lost a factory and two buildings that were never 

restituted. 

Mr. Sidney Zabludoff is an international economist. He has concentrated on issues relating to returning assets stolen by the Nazis 

and their collaborators to Holocaust survivors and their heirs for 

the past 12 years. He is a former consultant to the Conference on 

Jewish Material Claims Against Germany where he focused on the 

International Commission of Holocaust Era Insurance Claims 

(ICHEIC) of which we have been talking about today. 

He also worked for the World Jewish Congress on broad economic and financial aspects of the Holocaust era asset issue. He 

participated in the London Conference on Nazi Gold in 1997, and 

the Washington Conference on Holocaust Era Assets in 1998. 

He assisted in the development of the American President’s Commission on Holocaust Era Assets and has published articles concerning the Nazi Gold movements. During his U.S. Government 

service at the CIA, Treasury, and White House from 1962 to 1994, 

he pioneered efforts to analyze illicit financial flows, helped to establish the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, directed finan-
21

cial intelligence operations, and provided policy support on global 

economic issues to the highest level of government officials. 

Mr. Jack Rubin, I am proud to say—very proud to say—is a constituent of mine from Boynton Beach, Florida. Like Mr. Evron, and 

Mr. Moskovic, he is a Holocaust survivor. Mr. Rubin is originally 

from Czechoslovakia. Under Hungarian authority in 1944, Mr. 

Rubin was picked up by the Hungarians, along with his family, and 

sent to the ghetto. From there, they were deported to Auschwitz, 

which is the last time Mr. Rubin saw his parents. 

Mr. Rubin was sent from Auschwitz to a labor camp where he 

was forced to work in a copper mine. He survived the labor camp 

and was returned to the Kochendorf concentration camp where he 

was forced to work in the salt mine. Then he survived the freezing 

death march to Dachau in which thousands of prisoners perished, 

as well as a month also in Dachau. 

After spending more than a year in a German displaced persons’ 

camp, he registered to go to the United States and was permitted 

to immigrate. He served admirably in the U.S. Army in 1950. After 

he was honorably discharged, he prospered in the fur business, 

married, and had three children and four grandchildren. 

Mr. Rubin retired and moved with his family from Connecticut 

to Florida in 1999. He has been active in his synagogue and several 

survivor organizations, including the Advisory Committee of the 

Jewish Family and Children’s Service. Thank you very much, Mr. 

Rubin, for being here. 

What I am going to do for you, Mr. Moskovic, is I believe Congressman Mahoney wanted to be here to introduce you. So with 

your permission I am going to hold off until I come back. I am 

going to grab Congressman Mahoney and ask him to introduce you. 

We had talked yesterday and he felt honored that he would have 

the opportunity to do that. So I don’t want to deny him that opportunity. 

And I beg your indulgence, I am going to run to go vote and I 

will be back as soon as I can physically run there and make the 

two votes. I thank you for your patience. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. We appreciate that, Congressman. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you. 

[Recess.] 

Mr. WEXLER. I would like to thank everyone for their patience 

and indulgence. We ended off where I introduced the first four panelists. Mr. Moskovic was yet to be introduced and we were waiting 

for Mr. Mahoney, who had made a special request to have the opportunity to do the introduction. 

And with that, I recognize Mr. Mahoney, who I will add has just 

become, I think yesterday, a sponsor of the legislation that we have 

talked about in great detail earlier in the hearing that would create 

a Federal cause of action for survivors regarding their insurance 

policies and other assets. 

Also joining us in the audience for the moment, but I hope she 

will join us on the dais, is the leading and Ranking Republican on 

the Foreign Affairs Committee who is the lead sponsor of the legislation we have been talking about this morning, Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen 

from Florida, as well. And there is no acclamation that would be 

undeserved for Ileana. She has been uniquely engaged in helping 
22

the survivor community obtain a level of justice. And she deserves 

our extraordinary gratitude and I think she will be here to listen 

to the testimony. 

With that, Mr. Mahoney, also, if I could, I just want to recognize 

Mr. Klein who also represents a constituency that has a very 

strong contingent of survivors. Mr. Klein, too, is a sponsor of the 

bill that we have been talking about. And previous to being a Member of Congress, Mr. Klein was engaged in a very significant way 

in Holocaust education issues in the Florida legislature, both as a 

State Senator and State Representative. Also, as a leading member 

of the South Palm Beach County Jewish Federation, was engaged 

heavily in Holocaust-related issues, so we welcome him to the subcommittee as well. 

Mr. Mahoney? 

Mr. MAHONEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me this opportunity to join the Subcommittee on Europe this afternoon so I 

could introduce one of my most distinguished constituents, Mr. 

Moskovic. Before I go into detail, since you brought it up, I am glad 

to be a co-sponsor, because very simply stated, there is no time-out 

when it comes to doing what is right and what is just. And I think 

this is an important piece of legislation so that justice can be 

served. 

Getting back to Mr. Moskovic, I would like to thank him for coming today. I would like to thank Ileana for introducing this important bill. And again I am truly honored to be here. 

Mr. Moskovic, who today lives in Hobe Sound, Florida, in my district, is a Holocaust survivor from Slovakia. In 1944, Mr. Moskovic, 

his parents Josef and Gittel Moskovic, and two brothers were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau prison camp. Mr. Moskovic was 

the only one of 41 family members to survive the Holocaust, enduring a torturous march through freezing weather, nearly 2 weeks on 

a cramped train where thousands died of hunger, and the horrors 

of Auschwitz. 

Upon his return after the war, he found that his family house 

had been destroyed. In 1947, Mr. Moskovic came to the United 

States where he established a successful career as an editor for 

ABC Sports. In fact, Mr. Moskovic was awarded numerous Emmys 

during his 30-year career. 

After moving to Florida, Mr. Moskovic volunteered to work on 

the advisory committee of the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services 

Board in Boca Raton, Florida, a nonprofit organization that provides members in Palm Beach County with counseling and education programs. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, where he has worked to help Holocaust survivors recover 

their family assets. 

Mr. Moskovic, I am truly honored that you took the time to come 

out and give this very, very important testimony today, and I appreciate the opportunity, having the ability to introduce you, sir. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Mahoney. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Congressman Mahoney, I want to thank you for 

those kind words, I really appreciate it. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you. With that we will start the testimony. 

Mr. Taylor, if you would, please. 
23

STATEMENT OF MR. GIDEON TAYLOR, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CONFERENCE ON JEWISH MATERIAL CLAIMS 

AGAINST GERMANY, INC. 

Mr. TAYLOR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. For 55 years, the Claims Conference has advocated for the 

rights of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution and heirs of the victims. Claims Conference negotiations with Germany have led to almost $60 billion in payments to Holocaust survivors. Since 1980 

the Claims Conference has administered nine programs of compensation for Jewish victims of Nazism, paying more than $4.5 billion to survivors. Overall, more than 500,000 survivors have received payments as a result of these negotiations. 

In the year 2006, the Claims Conference distributed in excess of $600 million in direct compensation and payments to survivors and 

heirs, in allocations for social welfare programs, together with limited amounts for programs of Holocaust documentation and education. 

These accomplishments have been aided, every step of the way, 

by the crucial support of the United States Government. The U.S. 

has played a critical role in helping in these efforts and we thank 

both the administration and the U.S. Congress, and the chairman 

of this committee and members of the committee for their continuing support on these issues. 

The Claims Conference continues to intensively press the German Government for compensation for additional survivors as well 

as for increased benefits for those already receiving payments. The 

Claims Conference Negotiating Delegation, composed almost entirely of Holocaust survivors, meets regularly with the German 

Government in order to press for improvements in these programs. 

The Claims Conference is also the primary funder of social services for Jewish victims of Nazism around the world, with funds primarily from unclaimed Jewish property in the former East Germany. Since 1995, the Claims Conference has administered more 

than $1 billion in social service allocations from various sources in 

over 40 countries. 

Allocating funds, especially those arising out of the Holocaust, is 

not easy and there are many strongly held views on all sides that 

are expressed most passionately. Every grant that the Claims Conference makes is listed on the Web site of the Claims Conference, 

as are full details of the financial statements and assets of the 

Claims Conference. 

Nazi victims in the United States and all over the world face tremendous social needs as they age. We are acutely aware of these 

needs. When the Claims Conference first began recovering Successor Organization funds in 1995, there were no social service programs specifically addressing the needs of Holocaust survivors in 

the U.S. The Claims Conference approached Jewish family service 

agencies one by one and establish over 50 programs across the 

United States. 

Because of these negotiations, carried out largely by the Claims 

Conference, allocations for programs have increased annually. In 

the United States alone, allocations for social welfare programs 

were increased from $7 million in 2000 to over $20 million in 2007. 

Yet these funds are still not enough. 
24

In July, the Claims Conference created an expanded allocation plan of $367 million over the next 3 years, primarily for social welfare programs for Nazi victims across the world. Demographic studies show that over the next 10–15 years, Nazi victims will continue 

to have growing, extensive needs. As survivors who are currently 

around age 75 get older, they will need even greater support. The 

Claims Conference’s multiyear plan reflects an effort to ensure that 

at least some funding will be available for these critical needs after 

income from restitution sources cease. 

There are two important, recent developments that impact greatly on survivors and meeting their needs. Just last month, the 

Claims Conference, in negotiations in Berlin, secured an additional 

6,000 monthly pensions under the Article 2 Fund, financed by the 

German Government, that will total approximately $250 million 

over the next decade. 

In addition, last month, as a result of efforts by the Claims Conference with assistance from members of this committee and from 

the chairman, the German Government announced the creation of 

a fund of approximately $140 million, out of which payments will 

be made to some 50,000 survivors of labor in Nazi era ghettos. 

Many of these survivors are also in the United States. 

Finally, I would like to close by addressing some of the challenges lying still ahead. Firstly, there are still many open issues 

with regard to Germany, not the least of which is obtaining additional funding for the home care needs of Holocaust survivors. 

Since 2004, the Claims Conference has secured approximately $45 

million for home care services. Negotiations with the German Government on this issue are ongoing. We seek the support of this 

Congress to help secure an adequate level of German Government 

funding. 

Secondly, we are making efforts to mobilize additional resources 

to meet the social needs of Nazi victims worldwide. Jewish federations in the United States, including those in Cleveland, Miami and 

New York, have allocated funds for these needs. In addition, State 

and city funding in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York 

City has been provided. We are working to expand public support 

for these endeavors. 

Thirdly, together with our sister organization, the World Jewish 

Restitution Organization, we are making great efforts to secure private and communal property restitution in a number of countries. 

Poland remains the only major country in the former Soviet Bloc 

that in the last two decades since the fall of Communism has not 

taken any measures to help former property owners or heirs recover private property. In the past, the U.S. Congress has been 

very supportive on this issue and we are appreciative of the role 

of the chairman in this regard. 

There are large amounts of property at stake in Eastern Europe 

and we seek the support of this committee in making a renewed 

effort to secure property restitution in these countries. 

Fourthly, the issue of looted art and other cultural property lags 

behind other areas of restitution. 

These efforts are ultimately not about the money; they are about 

trying to obtain a small measure of justice and a symbolic recognition for each individual Holocaust survivor who has been through 
25

the unimaginable. The Holocaust survivors who are involved in the 

Claims Conference and others involved in the Claims Conference 

will continue to fight for that justice and for that recognition as 

long as there is one survivor still alive. 

I thank you for your commitment dealing with these issues. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Taylor follows:]
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Taylor. 

Mr. Evron. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JEHUDA EVRON, PRESIDENT, 

HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION COMMITTEE 

Mr. EVRON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I sincerely appreciate the 

opportunity that you have afforded me to testify on the important 

issue of Holocaust restitution. I also hope that under your leadership, the Holocaust survivors will be able to finally see some significant progress in this area. 

I am a Holocaust survivor and the president of the Holocaust 

Restitution Committee, an umbrella organization in the forefront of 

fighting for the cause of property restitution in Poland for Holocaust survivors and their heirs. 

Over the last few years, I and other survivors have had the opportunity to work with the Claims Conference on different issues 

including the property restitution in Poland. I would like to pay 

tribute to the remarkable accomplishment of the Claims Conference in securing compensation, recovering assets, and assisting 

Holocaust survivors. The Holocaust survivors have brought many 

benefits to the survivors all over the world. 

We also coordinate our activities regarding Polish restitution 

with non-Jewish owners’ organizations in the United States and 

Poland. Unfortunately, our common efforts regarding restitution in 

Poland have not brought any positive results. 

Speaking personally, the process of property restitution has been 

critically important to my family for the past 20 years. Like many 

other survivors, my wife lost every member of her family in the 

carnage of Poland during World War II. All that is left from my 

wife’s family are some tragic memories and her home. But a 

stranger lives in and owns the house in which my wife grew up. 

And six decades after the Holocaust, Poland has no law providing 

my wife and the many other survivors in a similar position with 

the opportunity to recover what is rightfully theirs. 

The individuals that our organization represents are well into 

their 80s. Some of their sons and daughters are in their 60s. They 

seek the return of their homes in an environment of fairness and 

equity. 

Ladies and gentlemen, time is something Holocaust survivors do 

not have. We need closure now. I serve on the Advisory Committee 

of Self-Help, the major agency providing assistance to Holocaust 

survivors in New York. Despite the expanded funding from the 

Claims Conference and other sources over the past few years, there 

are many survivors in need in the United States. Many of them 

have properties in Poland, and receiving them back would allow 

them to pass their final years in dignity and at the same time release large resources to assist others. 

The homes, businesses, and other assets of the survivors were 

seized by the Nazis during World War II in what came to be known 

as the Holocaust or the Shoah. These properties were expropriated 

by the subsequent Communist regime. 

We expected that a nation like Poland that suffered so much during the Nazi and Communist era would understand the suffering 

of other people. There are no words to describe the suffering of the 
40

Jewish people during the Holocaust. Thus we do not understand 

why Poland continues to cause so much additional suffering by denying our right to our homes. 

The Polish Government estimates the value of survivors’ real estate at $40 billion, but most important is the moral aspect of this 

issue. Poland has no right to inherit, use, or otherwise benefit from 

the assets of 3 million Jews that were murdered there in the most 

barbaric ways. 

The Polish efforts to provide property restitution have so far 

failed. Every single year brings new reports that Poland is preparing comprehensive legislation to deal with the property restitution issue. Yet, even efforts to provide minimal, indeed insulting, 

restitution or compensation go nowhere. The present draft of the 

law submitted to the Polish Parliament in September 2006, which 

would only offer a symbolic 15 percent compensation of the value, 

has been delayed again and again. 

We ask this committee to support the work of the Holocaust Restitution Committee together with that of the Claims Conference 

and the sister organizations, the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the World Jewish Congress, in securing fair property 

restitution legislation in Poland. 

In the end, I would like to ask, and hope that this committee 

adopts a strong resolution on this subject. The Europe Subcommittee is the most appropriate body to appeal to the Polish authority to resolve this problem once and for all. And soon. This 

must be done immediately due to the age of the survivors’ population. Justice delayed is justice denied. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Evron follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. JEHUDA EVRON, PRESIDENT, HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION

COMMITTEE

Thank you Mr. Chairman. 

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity that you have afforded me to testify on the 

important issue of Holocaust restitution. I also hope that under your leadership the 

Holocaust survivors will be able to finally see some significant progress in this area. 

I am the President of the Holocaust Restitution Committee, an umbrella organization in the forefront of fighting for the cause of property restitution in Poland for 

Holocaust survivors and their heirs. 

Over the last few years, I and other survivors have had an opportunity to work 

with the Claims Conference on different issues, including property restitution in Poland. I would like to pay tribute to the remarkable accomplishments of the Claims 

Conference in securing compensation, recovering assets and assisting Holocaust survivors. The negotiating delegation of the Claims Conference, which includes Holocaust survivors, has brought many benefits to survivors all over the world. We coordinate activities regarding Polish restitution with non-Jewish owners organizations in the US and in Poland. 

Unfortunately, our common efforts regarding restitution in Poland have not 

brought any positive results. We have been unable to secure even basic legislation 

for the return of confiscated property in. Speaking personally, the process of property restitution has been critically important to my family for the past twenty years. 

Like many other survivors, my wife lost every member of her family in the carnage 

of Poland, during World War II. 

All that is left from my wife’s family, are some tragic memories and her home. 

But a stranger lives in and ‘‘owns’’ the house in which my wife grew up. And, six 

decades after the Holocaust, Poland has no law providing my wife, and the many 

other survivors and heirs in a similar position, with the opportunity to recover what 

is rightfully theirs. 

The individuals that our organizations represent are well into their 80’s; some of 

their sons and daughters are in their sixties and they may even have adult grand-
41

children. They seek the return of their homes in an environment of fairness and equity. 

Ladies and Gentlemen time is something Holocaust survivors do not have. We 

need closure now. 

I serve on the Advisory Committee of Self Help—the major agency providing assistance to Holocaust survivors in New York. Despite the expanded funding from the 

Claims Conference and other sources over the past few years there are many survivors in need in the United States. Property legislation in Poland would allow them 

to pass their final years in dignity and, at the same time, release large resources 

to assist others. 

We ask this Committee to support the work of the Holocaust Restitution Committee together with that of the Claims Conference and its sister organizations the 

World Jewish Restitution Organization and the World Jewish Congress in securing 

fair property restitution legislation in Poland. 

The homes, businesses and other assets of the survivors were seized by the Nazis 

during World War II in what has come to be known as the Holocaust or the Shoah. 

These properties were expropriated by the subsequent Communist regime. 

We expected that a nation like Poland that suffered so much during the Nazi and 

Communist eras, would understand the suffering of other people. There are no 

words to describe the suffering of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Thus, we 

don’t understand why Poland continues to cause so much additional suffering by denying our right to our homes? 

The Polish Government estimates the value of the survivors Real Estate at 40 billion dollars but most important is the moral aspect of this issue. Poland has no right 

to inherit, use and otherwise benefit from the assets of 3 Million Jews that were 

murdered there in the most barbaric ways. 

Polish Efforts on Property Restitution 

The Polish efforts to provide property restitution have, so far, failed. Every single 

year brings with it new reports that Poland is preparing comprehensive legislation 

to deal with the property restitution issue. Yet, even efforts to provide minimal, indeed, insulting restitution or compensation go nowhere. The present draft of a law, 

submitted to the Polish Parliament in September 2006, which would only offer a 

symbolic 15% compensation of the value of any property, has been delayed again 

and again. 

In the end, I would like to ask and hope that this Committee adopts a strong resolution on this subject. The European Subcommittee is a most appropriate body to 

appeal to Polish authorities to resolve this problem, once and for all, and soon. This 

must be done immediately due to the age of the survivor’s population. Justice delayed, as we so often hear in this great land of ours, is justice denied. 

Thank you

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Zabludoff. 

STATEMENT OF MR. SIDNEY ZABLUDOFF, FORMER CONSULTANT, CONFERENCE ON JEWISH MATERIAL CLAIMS AGAINST 

GERMANY, INC. 

Mr. ZABLUDOFF. Thank you for allowing me to present the facts 

related to restitution of Holocaust era assets. My basic conclusion 

after examining the issue for some 10 years is that extraordinary 

events require extraordinary resolutions. Clearly the murder of 

two-thirds of Continental European Jewry and the confiscation of 

almost all assets by the Nazis and their collaborators was such an 

event. 

I will briefly look at three aspects of the issue: Progress of overall 

asset restitution; ICHEIC’s effectiveness; and where do we go from 

here. 

Pledges and laws aimed at restoring property seized by the Nazis 

were made soon after World War II began. Most notably, the allies 

stated in numerous proclamations that a major aim was to ensure 

the return of property stolen, confiscated or taken under duress. 
42

In the postwar era, however, other issues such as the Cold War 

soon overshadowed any such endeavor. By the end of the postwar 

era, only about 15 percent of the value of stolen assets had been 

returned to the rightful owners or their heirs. 

A resurgence of interest in Holocaust restitution occurred in the 

mid-1990s. Progress was made on a number of fronts. But in the 

end, there was more talk and minimal action. Roughly only an additional 3 percent of stolen assets were returned, bringing the total 

to less than 20 percent. At a minimum, $120 billion in stolen assets 

at 2007 prices has never been returned. 

ICHEIC has been of particular interest in the revival of the asset 

issue. Established in 1998, this unique organization aimed at 

quickly paying unpaid Holocaust era insurance claims without 

going through the complexities and duration of legal procedures or 

government programs. When the claims process was completed this 

year, however, as the chairman has indicated, only about 3 percent 

of the amount outstanding in life insurance was paid. Few, if any, 

non-life policies were considered. The process took 8 years instead 

of the originally anticipated 2, and only a small humanitarian fund 

was developed from the large amounts that all parties anticipated 

would never be paid to claimants. 

The chief reason for this failure was inept governance and poor 

management. For example, ICHEIC management mainly ignored 

the numerous studies pinpointing the serious problem with the 

claims process. Judge Michael Mukasey succinctly summed up the 

problem when he described ICHEIC as, I quote, ‘‘in a sense, the 

company store.’’

It is for these reasons that the legislation introduced by Congressman Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Wexler is important. It 

requires insurance companies to publicly disclose the names of Holocaust era policyholders, including non-life, and to be accountable 

for paying legitimate claims via the courts. 

Clearly, a missing element remains payments to a humanitarian 

fund to support needy Holocaust survivors. Those working on 

ICHEIC and other restitution efforts knew from the very start that 

no matter what steps are taken to find claimants, many assets 

would never be restored. This is because whole families were wiped 

out by the horrific events of the Holocaust, leaving only distant relatives with little knowledge of the policyholders, especially when 

dealing with events that occurred more than a half-century ago. 

Recognizing this fact, ICHEIC attempted at one time to calculate 

the overall value of policies, called the top-down approach. The 

companies would then pay the difference between the overall estimate and the amount actually paid to the claimants to a fund that 

would support needy survivors and other causes. 

This approach, however, was forgotten as ICHEIC proceeded, 

and only relatively small amounts were provided for such a humanitarian fund, mostly from an accord with Germany. Insurance companies failed completely to deal with this issue. 

This brings me to my final point. Where do we go from here? Besides pressing individual claims, I would suggest an international 

remembrance fund in support of the needy Holocaust survivors who 

are in their autumn years. Currently, there are approximately 

600,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide. A review of available stud-
43

ies indicates significant differences in the estimated number of survivors that need financial support to maintain their daily lives and 

health requirements. 

For example, one U.S. study indicates the income of more than 

half of the survivors falls within the poverty or near-poverty bracket; while another undertaken at the same time indicates about 30 

percent. 

My first approximation of what would be needed for the next 10 years is between $20 billion and $40 billion. Currently, less than 

$1 billion is available for humanitarian funds from ongoing asset 

restitution programs. 

What is first required is an in-depth study to determine more 

precisely the financial needs of needy survivors for the next 10 or 

15 years. Simultaneously, we should establish an international remembrance fund financed by governments and corporations. This 

will require an innovative financial structure, but, again, extraordinary measures are essential in dealing with an extraordinary 

event such as the Holocaust. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Zabludoff follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. SIDNEY ZABLUDOFF, FORMER CONSULTANT, 

CONFERENCE ON JEWISH MATERIAL CLAIMS AGAINST GERMANY, INC. 

Thank you for allowing me to present the facts relating to restitution of Holocaust 

era assets. My basic conclusion after examining the issue for some 10 years is that 

extraordinary events require extraordinary resolutions. Clearly, the murder of twothirds of continental European Jewry and the confiscation of nearly all Jewish assets by the Nazis and their collaborators was such an event. I will look at three 

aspects of the issue: Progress of overall restitution, ICHEIC’s effectiveness and 

where we can go from here. 

Pledges and laws aimed at restoring property seized by the Nazis and their collaborators were made soon after World War II began. Starting with Poland in late 

1939, all governments-in-exile from occupied countries nullified the confiscatory actions taken by the Nazi invaders. Throughout the war, the Allies stated in numerous proclamations that a major aim was to ensure the return of property stolen, confiscated or taken under duress. In the post-war era, however, other issues such as 

the Cold War soon overshadowed and thwarted any such endeavor. By the end of 

the post-war era only about 15 percent of the value of stolen assets had been returned to their rightful owner or their heirs. 

A resurgence of interest in Holocaust restitution occurred in the mid 1990s. 

Progress was made on a number of fronts but in the end there was more talk and 

minimal actions. Roughly only an additional 3 percent of stolen assets were returned, bringing the total to less than 20 percent. Altogether, at least some $120 

to $185 billion in stolen assets at 2007 prices has never been returned. 

Of particular interest in the revival of the asset issue was the International Commission of Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC). Established in 1998, this 

unique body brought together insurance companies, state regulators and Jewish 

groups including the State of Israel in an effort to compensate for unpaid Holocaust 

era insurance claims. The concept was to do so quickly without going through the 

complexities and duration of legal procedures or government programs. When the 

claims process was completed this year, however, only about 3 percent of the 

amount outstanding in life insurance was paid, few, if any, non-life policies were 

considered; the process took eight years instead of the originally anticipated two; 

and only a small humanitarian fund was developed even though all parties anticipated that large amounts would never be paid. 

The chief reasons for this failure were inept governance and poor management. 

Governance became akin to secret diplomacy, in which those who ran ICHEIC relied 

heavily on dealing only with those who favored their views while making promises 

to others that were never fulfilled or too long delayed. ICHEIC management mainly 

ignored the numerous studies pinpointing the serious problem with the claims process. Judge Michael Mukasey succinctly summed up the problem when he described 

ICHEIC as ‘‘in a sense, the company store.’’
44

It is for these reasons, the legislation introduced by Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen 

is important. It requires insurers to publicly disclose the names of Holocaust-era 

policyholders (including non-life) and to be accountable for paying legitimate claims 

via the courts. It should be noted that for life policies only, insurance companies are 

benefiting from some $17 billon in unpaid Holocaust era policies. 

Clearly, a missing element remains payments to a humanitarian fund to support 

needy Holocaust survivors. Those working on ICHEIC and other restitution efforts 

know at the start that no matter what steps are taken to find claimants, many policies will remain unpaid. This is because whole families were wiped out by the horrific events of the Holocaust, leaving only distant relatives with little knowledge of 

the policyholders, especially when dealing with events that occurred more than a 

half century ago. Recognizing this fact, ICHEIC attempted at one time to calculate 

the overall value of policies—called the ‘‘top down approach.’’ The companies would 

then pay the difference between this overall estimate and the amounts actually paid 

claimants to a fund that would support needy survivors and other causes. This approach, however, was forgotten as ICHEIC proceeded, and only relatively small 

amounts were provided for such a humanitarian fund, mostly under an accord with 

Germany. Insurance companies failed completely to deal with this issue. 

This brings me to my final point—where do we go from here. Besides pressing 

individual claims, I would suggest an International Remembrance Fund to support 

needy Holocaust survivors who are in their autumn years. Currently there are approximately 600,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide and actuarial data indicate 

their number will diminish sharply during the next ten years. A review of the available studies indicates significant differences both in the number of survivors and 

those lacking adequate income for each country, as well as to what financial support 

is needed to maintain the survivors’ daily living expenses and health requirements. 

For example, one study of United Sates indicates that the income of more than half 

the survivors falls within the poverty or near poverty bracket; while another undertaken at about the same time indicates about 30 percent. Such differences often reflect definitional issues. It also should be pointed out that the average amount required for a needy survivor will increase because of higher health care expenditures 

of an aging population. My first very rough approximation is that between $20 and 

$40 billion will be required during the next ten years to sustain needy survivors. 

But less than $1 billion is now available from humanitarian funds of ongoing restitution programs. 

Clearly, what is urgently required is an in-depth study to determine more precisely the likely financial requirements of needy survivors over the next 10–15 

years. This would take into consideration funds they are already receiving through 

various governments as well as private assistance. Simultaneously, we must reach 

a global accord to establish an International Remembrance Fund financed by governments as well as corporations to deal with the plight of needy survivors of Nazi 

persecution. This will require an innovative financial structure. But again extraordinary measures are essential in dealing with an extraordinary event such as the 

Holocaust.

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much. 

STATEMENT OF MR. JACK RUBIN, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, 

MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS OF WEST PALM BEACH 

Mr. RUBIN. Good afternoon. My name is Jack Rubin and I live 

in Boynton Beach, Florida. I want to thank Chairman Wexler and 

the committee—Chairman Wexler is my Congressman—for holding 

this important hearing and inviting Holocaust survivors to speak 

for themselves about this issue of great concern. 

I am here to urge you in the most urgent terms possible to pass 

the H.R. 1746, the Holocaust insurance accountability act of 2007. 

I was born in 1928 in Vari, Czechoslovakia, which was annexed 

by the Hungarians in 1938. We lived in a building where my father’s general store was also located. There was a sign that said 

the building and the premises were insured by Generali Moldavia. 

I am certain that my father, who was a careful businessman, had 

all kinds of insurance, including life insurance, because he spoke 
45

about it often. From these conversations I remembered the name 

of the agent, Mr. Joseph Schwartz. 

Like all Jews in our town, we were forced out from our home in 

April 1944 with only the clothes on our back and one suitcase each 

and taken to Beregszasz ghetto. There the Nazis forced everyone 

to turn over their jewelry, watches, wedding rings, and hand over 

everything of value. 

We were then deported to Auschwitz, where my parents perished. I survived Auschwitz and three other camps. Needless to 

say, after the Holocaust I had no way to find any papers such as 

insurance policies. After ICHEIC was created, I applied because of 

the publicity encouraging applications. They promised to open company records and apply relaxed standards of proof. I filed two 

claims naming my father, Ferencz Rubin and my mother Rosa 

Rosenbaum-Rubin, and their birth years. I mentioned the sign on 

our building for Generali Moldavia and the fact that the agent Mr. 

Schwartz, was our agent, who also died in the Holocaust. 

This was all of the information I had. But considering the circumstances, it was certainly enough to show we had insurance. 

Four years later I received a letter from Generali stating they had 

no records from their subsidiaries and no records of policies in the 

family. This is absurd because I know we had insurance. Yet 

Generali did not produce any piece of paper to justify its decision 

and ICHEIC’s arbitrators did not require the company to produce 

any proof. It did not force them to produce records from Generali 

Moldavia, a known subsidiary, and he did not require them to 

produce information about Mr. Schwartz, the agent from our town. 

He just accepted Generali’s words. 

Survivors are appalled by the treatment we have received from 

ICHEIC and other institutions. ICHEIC was controlled by the insurance companies and conducted in secret. Once again, the survivors were denied access to the truth. Stealing our money is bad 

enough, but concealing the truth from the Holocaust survivors is a 

terrible thing. 

If our society today has any decency, it would require the companies to open their records and be fully accountable for the thefts 

of our family’s legacy. After all, isn’t this why people buy insurance? The companies betrayed us and today the U.S. justice system 

has blocked our access to the truth. 

I am here today to ask you: Fix this, please, by passing H.R. 

1746, because it will require the companies to open their records 

and allow the survivors to go to court for the truth. 

Because of ICHEIC’s failure, I and several other survivors objected to the recent class action settlement in the Generali case. 

That settlement made the ICHEIC settlement binding on all survivors without giving notice about what was happening. We objected, and we appealed, and I am happy to say yesterday the New 

York appellate court said we were right and reversed the settlement approval. 

This is very important. The appeals court said this matter cannot 

be swept under the carpet. But without H.R. 1746, this victory will 

be very hollow. There is a short period of time for Congress to clarify survivors’ insurance rights. 
46

If I may, I would also like to be able to tell you about horror stories facing the elderly, poor survivors today in my community and 

throughout the United States. And the funds are not getting to 

those who were looted and those who need the help. The ICHEIC 

money, we talked about. Also in the Swiss bank case, Judge 

Korman allocated 75 percent of the looted assets fund to the former 

Soviet Union, with only 4 percent for the needs of the survivors in 

the United States. It is an insult to those of us who went through 

the Holocaust, denying assistance to Americans just because he believes the rich here should take care of the survivors. This is the 

survivors’ money, but the poor here do not have a fair chance to 

benefit from the settlement. 

And now let me turn to the Claims Conference. The Claims Conference is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, plus properties 

obtained from Germany and the uses of those funds. We deserve 

a full accounting because survivors are suffering. 

Finally, let’s not forget that Germany bears primary responsibility for the rights and the needs of the Holocaust survivors. We 

call upon Congress to raise with the administration and the German Government the fact that thousands of survivors today are not 

living with dignity to which they are entitled. We need immediate 

solution no matter what the source. 

There is a common theme in the restitution era. There has been 

secrecy and the deals have been made by people we did not appoint 

or approve. We have been denied the truth and that is outrageous. 

We survivors who are most affected are not allowed to participate, 

and the results are terrible. They are totally inadequate. We need 

Congress to expose these deals and demand, as a matter of morality, a just outcome. Time for talk is over. Co-sponsor H.R. 1746 and 

ask your colleagues to co-sponsor H.R. 1746, because time is very 

short. 

Mr. Chairman, our survivors’ age today is over 80. And they are 

dying faster than snow melts in Florida. So please, I also have a 

few articles on these subjects which I hope you will allow for the 

record. Please do it before it is too late. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Rubin follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. JACK RUBIN, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, MEMBER OF THE

ADVISORY COMMITTEE, HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS OF WEST PALM BEACH

My name is Jack Rubin, and I live in Boynton Beach, Florida. I want to thank 

Chairman Wexler, my Congressman, for holding this important hearing and for inviting Holocaust survivors to speak for ourselves about these issues of great concern. 

I am here to urge you in the most urgent terms possible to pass HR 1746, the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007. 

I was born in 1928 in Vari, Czechoslovakia, which was annexed by Hungary in 

1938. We lived in a building where my father’s general store was also located. There 

was a sign that said the building and premises were insured by ‘‘Generali 

Moldavia.’’ I am certain that my father, who was a careful business man, had all 

kinds of insurance, including life insurance, because he spoke about it often. From 

these conversations, I even remember the name of the agent, Mr. Joseph Schwartz. 

Like all Jews in our town, we were forced out of our home in April of 1944 with 

only the clothes on our back and one suitcase each, and taken to the Beregsastz 

Ghetto. There the Nazis forced everyone to turn over their jewelry, watches, wedding rings, and hand over everything of value. We were then deported to Auschwitz, 

where my parents perished. I survived Auschwitz and three other camps. Needless 

to say, after the Holocaust, I had no way to find any papers such as insurance policies. 
47

After ICHEIC was created, I applied because of the publicity encouraging applications. They promised to open company records and apply ‘‘relaxed standards of 

proof.’’ I filed two claims, naming my father Ferencz Rubin and my mother Rosa 

Rosenbaum-Rubin, and their birth years. I mentioned the sign on our building for 

‘‘Generali Moldavia,’’ and the fact that the agent Mr. Schwartz was our agent, who 

also died in the Holocaust. This was all the information I had, but considering the 

circumstances it was certainly enough to show we had insurance. 

Four years later I received a letter from Generali stating that they had no records 

from their subsidiaries and no records of policies in the family. This is absurd, because I know we had insurance. Yet Generali did not produce one piece of paper 

to justify its decision, and the ICHEIC Arbitrator did not require the company to 

produce any proof. He did not force them to produce records from Generali 

Moldavia, a known subsidiary, and he did not require them to produce information 

about Mr. Schwartz, the agent from our town. He just accepted Generali’s word. 

Survivors are appalled by the treatment we have received from ICHEIC and other 

institutions. ICHEIC was controlled by the insurance companies and conducted in 

secret. Once again, we survivors were denied access to the truth. Stealing our 

money is bad enough, but concealing the truth from Holocaust survivors is a terrible 

thing. If our society today has any decency, it would require the companies to open 

their records and be fully accountable for their thefts of our families’ legacies. After 

all, isn’t this why people buy insurance? The companies betrayed us and to date, 

the U.S. justice system has blocked our access to the truth. I am here today to ask 

you to fix this by passing HR 1746, because it will require the companies to open 

their records, and allow survivors and heirs to go to court for the truth. 

I would also be able to tell you about horror stories facing elderly, poor survivors 

today in my community, and throughout the United States. And the funds are not 

getting to those who were looted and those who need the help. The ICHEIC money 

we talked about. Also, in the Swiss bank case, Judge Korman allocated 75% of the 

Looted Assets funds to the Former Soviet Union, with only 4% for the needs of survivors in the United States, is an insult to those of us who went through the Holocaust, denying assistance to Americans just because he believes the rich here should 

take care of the survivors here. This is the survivors’ money, but the poor here do 

not have a fair chance to benefit from the settlement. 

Also, the Claims Conference is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars. Survivors do not believe there has been an adequate accounting of the property obtained from Germany and the uses of those funds. We deserve a full accounting, because survivors are suffering. 

Finally, let’s not forget that Germany bears primary responsibility for the rights 

and needs of Holocaust survivors. We call upon Congress to raise with the Administration and the German Government the fact that thousands of survivors today are 

not living with the dignity to which they are entitled. SS officers receive more from 

Germany in pensions than Holocaust survivors. We need immediate solutions, no 

matter what the source. 

I hope you will do a complete audit of where the survivors’ money has gone, because we know it isn’t coming to those who were looted, or those in need. 

There is a common theme in the restitution area. There has been secrecy, and 

the deals have been made by people we did not appoint or approve. We have been 

denied the truth, and that is outrageous. We survivors, who are the most affected, 

were not allowed to participate and the results are terrible. They are totally inadequate. We need Congress to expose these deals and demand, as a matter of morality, a just outcome. The time for talk is over. 

I have submitted a few news articles on these subjects, which I hope you will 

allow for the record. 

Thank you very much.

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Rubin. 

Without objection, the articles that you mentioned will be made 

a part of the record. 

[The information referred to follows:]
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72

Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Moskovic. 

STATEMENT OF MR. ALEX MOSKOVIC, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, 

MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE 

COMMITTEE, HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS FOUNDATION USA, 

INC. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Good afternoon, subcommittee members of the 

Foreign Affairs. My name is Alex Moskovic. At the age of 14, I was 

the only one of 41 family members to survive Auschwitz-Birkenau 

and Buchenwald extermination and concentration camps. I came to 

this country in 1946. Today I don’t want to talk about or repeat 

myself about the atrocities that were part of our lives, our young 

lives. However, I want to talk mostly about what the needs of the 

survivors are. 

I am here to speak as a Holocaust survivor about the failure of 

what is often called the quest for a measure of justice for survivors. 

The processes employed over the past decades have mostly failed. 

We have been denied access to the truth about our families and 

their lives in allowing unauthorized negotiators to enter compromises over the Swiss bank thefts, insurance thefts, and property 

restitution. The notion that perfect justice is impossible has served 

to cover secrecy and for allowing governments and global financial 

institutions to benefit from the theft of tens of billions of dollars in 

the Holocaust. 

We need Congress to pass bill H.R. 1746 to correct these injustices, at least with respect to insurance. 

I only have time for a few specific remarks here but I ask you 

to read my entire submission and the attachments which I request 

to be allowed in the record. 

My father had a business in my home town of Sobrance, Hungary during the 1940s. This was an area where Generali, a Jewish 

company at the time, was a major force in the insurance market. 

The International Commission for Holocaust Era Insurance Claims 

(ICHEIC) was formed in 1998. I applied and gave all the information I had which wasn’t much for a boy who survived at age of 14 

with no living relatives. Several months later, my name and the 

names of several family members appeared on the ICHEIC Web 

site indicating that policies had been sold to us before the Second 

World War. But ICHEIC denied the claim without providing any 

information whatsoever. I had no choice but to accept their decision. 

The fact that 97 percent of the Jewish families’ insurance moneys was not repaid does not surprise me at all, because the survivors who went through ICHEIC believed it was a fiasco. Survivors are angry and hurt that so many billions remain held by corporate plunderers of the Holocaust. Not only is this concealment 

wrong morally, it is unacceptable when you consider the amount of 

poverty and need among the survivors today. 

You might be surprised, if you read statements by the Claims 

Conference President Israel Singer, that over $20 billion was recovered for the Holocaust survivors in the last decade. If this is true 

we are wondering, what happened to the money? What we do know 

is that not enough of this is being used for the care of survivors 

in need. The major source of money for these programs is the fund 
73

recovered from the German properties claimed and managed by the 

Claims Conference, but the Conference has never published an accounting of what they did with these properties. So no one really 

knows how much it has available to spend. 

Ernst and Young recently wrote that the group’s disclosures were 

not proper. We are all waiting for the full story. 

In addition, the Conference spends 20 percent of its annual discretionary budget for projects unrelated to survivors’ needs for research, education, documentation. Many of these grants go to the 

board members or their affiliates, which raises ethical questions if 

not legal ones. 

We survivors believe that the money recovered belonging to our 

families should either go to the actual heirs or to the benefit of living survivors who are in need today. We are the ones who lost everything, our beloved parents, brothers, sisters, as well as everything we owned. Who is the Claims Conference or anyone else in 

this world to tell us that the memories of our murdered loved ones 

should be honored with various programs while the living survivors 

are suffering and money is being hoarded and hidden? 

Today, H.R. 1746 has over 30 co-sponsors. We don’t understand 

why there aren’t 300 co-sponsors. Please, I am urging you to cosponsor H.R. 1746. 

I am also urging you to tell other Members what you heard today 

and tell them that Congress really has a chance to right an awful 

historical wrong. The years left are but a few to be required to be 

concerned with the survivor needs in the world. Time is running 

out. The hourglass is emptying. If not here, where? If not now, 

when? Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Moskovic follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. ALEX MOSKOVIC, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, MEMBER OF

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS

FOUNDATION USA, INC. 

Good Afternoon. My name is Alex Moskovic. At the age of 14, I was the only one 

of 41 family members to survive the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald extermination and concentration camps. I came to this country in 1947 and after my retirement, I moved to Florida and volunteered to work on the Advisory Committee of 

the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services in Boca Raton FL. The growing problems 

facing survivors as they age, the lack of resources to assist them, and the overall 

frustration faced by all survivors, including me, who attempted to recover their family assets such as insurance policies, led me to become active with local survivor 

groups and the national Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA. 

I am here to speak, as a Holocaust survivor, about the failure of what is often 

called the quest for ‘‘a measure of justice’’ for survivors. All agree that no amount 

of money can ever compensate us for the crimes of the Holocaust. But the processes 

employed over the last decade have mostly failed. We have been denied access to 

the truth about our families and their lives. In allowing unauthorized negotiators 

to enter compromises over Swiss bank thefts, insurance thefts, and property restitution, the notion that ‘‘perfect justice is impossible’’ has served as a cover for secrecy, 

and for allowing governments and global financial institutions to benefit from the 

theft of tens of billions of dollars in the Holocaust. We are asking Congress to help. 

You are our last chance for a dignified outcome that respects survivors’ rights and 

interests. 

I only have time for a few specific remarks here, but I ask that you read my entire 

submission and the attachments which I request be included in the official record. 

Some of these materials are older as you can see, and were based on the best data 

available. More recent data, which I have also included, show that over 80,000 Holocaust survivors in the United States either live below the poverty level, or have incomes so low that they are considered poor. Tens of thousands cannot afford a decent quality of life. All of our volunteer activities cannot provide the medicines, 
74

home care, dentistry, rent, food, and other basic needs of these survivors. You must 

ask all participants in the hearing about these problems. You are our last hope. 

My father had a business in our hometown of Sobrance, Czechoslovakia. This was 

an area where Generali, a Jewish company at the time, was a major force in the 

insurance market. The International Commission for Holocaust Era Insurance 

Claims, the ICHEIC, was formed in 1998. I applied and gave all the information 

I had, which wasn’t much for a boy who survived at age 14 with no living relatives. 

Several months later, my name and the names of several family members appeared 

on the ICHEIC website, indicating that policies had been sold to us before WWII. 

Yet I never received any specific response from ICHEIC. ICHEIC denied my claims 

without providing any information whatsoever. I had no choice but to accept their 

decision. The fact that 97% of the Jewish families’ insurance money wasn’t repaid 

does not surprise me because most survivors who entered ICHEIC believe it was 

a fiasco. We need Congress to pass HR 1746 to correct this injustice. 

Survivors are angry and hurt that so many billions remain held by the corporate 

plunderers of the Holocaust. Not only is this concealment wrong morally, it is unacceptable when you consider the amount of poverty and need among survivors today. 

This might surprise you if you read statements by Claims Conference President 

Israel Singer, that $20 billion was recovered for Holocaust survivors in the last decade. If this is true, we are all wondering what happened to that money. I will give 

you one example because of time, but it is similar to thousands of similar cases all 

over the U.S. and the world. 

Mr.and Mrs. L.( 86 and 79 years old ), Survivors of Poland, now live in a small 

condo at Century Village in Boca Raton FL. Mr. L. is a stroke victim now suffering 

from dementia and cannot be left alone. Mrs. L. was Mr. L.s caretaker, however a 

while ago Mrs. L. had an emergency and was hospitalized and received coronary bypass surgery, valve replacement and repair of a hole in the heart. Her recovery had 

complications and she needed to be in extensive re-hab. Though a relative helped 

with Mr. L at first, she could not afford to miss more work. The Social Services provided some stop-gap assistance, but due to their experiences as survivors, and the 

problems of age, the separation was traumatic for both Mr. L and Mrs. L and it 

was clear they needed to be together. But the JFS lacked the funds to allow Mr. 

L. to join his wife in the re-hab center. Survivors can only receive approximately 

8 hours from the Claims Conference and the community for home care or situations 

such as this. 

I see these kinds of tragic problems all the time. It is happening more often as 

the survivor population is aging and it becomes almost impossible for them to take 

care of one another. On the Advisory Committee, we are forced to turn down requests for medications and devices such as dentures all the time because there is 

not enough funds. Today, Mr. and Mrs. L, and many thousands of survivors, are 

simply not be able to receive assistance they require for a decent level of health care 

and human dignity. 

At the Ruth Rales JFS, the clients in the past few years have doubled because 

of aging and but the allocation of funds have remained the same. How can we live 

with such a deplorable situation? 

So we don’t know where the $20 billion has gone, but we know not enough is 

being used to care for survivors in need. The major source of money for these programs is the funds recovered from German properties, claimed and managed by the 

Claims Conference. But the Conference has never published an accounting of what 

it did with all these properties, so no one really knows how much it has available 

to spend. Ernst and Young recently wrote that the group’s disclosures were not 

proper. We are all waiting for the full story. 

In addition, the Conference spends 20% of its annual discretionary budget for 

projects unrelated to survivors needs, like education and research. Over half of 

these grants go to board members or the Claims Conference, or their affiliates, raising moral if not legal questions. We survivors believe that money recovered that belonged to our families should either go to the actual heirs, or to benefit living survivors who are in need today. 

We are the ones who lost everything, our beloved parents, brothers, and sisters, 

as well as everything we owned. Why should others decide what happens to our 

families property like ICHEIC did? Who is the Claims Conference or anyone else 

to tell us that the memories of our murdered loved ones should be honored with various programs while living survivors are suffering and money is being hoarded and 

hidden? Survivors do not understand why public officials and other organizations 

that have supported the status quo do not give us the respect of allowing us to make 

these decisions for ourselves, and why they tolerate this kind of injustice. 

I would like to add that there is no reason the German Government itself should 

be on the sidelines in this discussion. Germany remains responsible for the catas-
75

trophe that befell us, and should not be allowed to sit by as an observer while any 

Holocaust survivor today lacks the care, food, and shelter they need. Shouldn’t survivors receive at least as much as retired SS officers? 

The years left are but few to be required to be concerned with the survivors needs 

in the world. Time is running out, the hour glass is emptying, and if not Here, 

Where? And if not Now . . . When? 

Thank You.

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your very 

earnest, compelling, and I think thoughtful testimony. 

Before we begin I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge and 

recognize a young lady who has dedicated herself to this subcommittee for many years, Beverly Razon, who is sitting in the corner. It is her last day with us. She worked with Mr. Gallegly as 

chairman and Mr. Bereuter as chairman of this subcommittee before me. 

She is going with her husband to Denver, I believe, and she will 

be sorely missed. And on behalf of Mr. Gallegly and me, we want 

to wish her well and thank her publicly for all of her hard work. 

Gentlemen, if I could, all of you sat through Ambassador Kennedy’s testimony. Some of you have talked directly to the point of 

ICHEIC. I would be curious, particularly Mr. Zabludoff and Mr. 

Rubin—Ambassador Kennedy essentially starts from the point that 

the mission was accomplished. The ICHEIC mission was accomplished. You heard what he said. The deal was made. A quid pro 

quo was reached. And the American Government—at least the administration’s—position is that the deal on the American side, from 

the government’s perspective, was to end litigation. 

Mr. Zabludoff, you have, I think, direct experience as a consultant to ICHEIC. Mr. Rubin, you have direct experience as an 

unsatisfied petitioner. Please, if you would, if you wish, direct your 

comments to what Ambassador Kennedy told us and would have us 

accept in terms of the history of ICHEIC. And again I say this with 

no disrespect—nothing other than respect for Ambassador Kennedy—but your testimony seemed to be in direct conflict with what 

Ambassador Kennedy has provided to this subcommittee. So I 

would be curious if you could expound upon what Ambassador Kennedy said in the context of both your professional experience or as 

a petitioner, if you wish. Please. 

Mr. ZABLUDOFF. As I was saying, ICHEIC basically, I thought 

originally when ICHEIC was started—and I was involved in it 

when it started—it was a very good idea. The idea was to really 

get things moving fast, to get claimants paid as best one could, and 

have a fairly sizable humanitarian fund for those people who had 

no knowledge of their policies, or policies that existed and companies held onto the money. 

But as time went on it became absolutely clear that the performance was very poor. Part of this had to do with the governance. I 

think that what tended to happen is that the insurance companies 

now thought they had a solution to their problems. If they could 

get by with the least they possibly could, they would. And that is 

essentially what happened. 

And the number of the decisions that were made were extraordinary in the sense of excluding claimants. To give one example, 

it was called the subsidiary issue. The question was: What do we 

mean by subsidiary? If Generali, for example, owned another com-
76

pany in Eastern Europe like Moldavia Generali, what percentage 

would be considered to be a subsidiary? If you look at EU rules, 

general international rules, even U.S. rules, you will see that 25 

percent is the amount. 

Mr. WEXLER. 25 percent ownership? 

Mr. ZABLUDOFF. 25 percent ownership of the subsidiary. But 

what ICHEIC insisted upon, and the chairman pushed for—probably—I don’t have any direct evidence of this—was what the companies insisted upon—50 percent. This excluded thousands of policies in Eastern Europe that ICHEIC would actually handle because 

of that. So I am just trying to explain one example here of why I 

consider the governance very poor and not forthright. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you. Mr. Rubin? 

Mr. RUBIN. Mr. Chairman, may I just ask a question? Maybe you 

have the answer. I hope you do. What happens to those policies 

that were burned up in Auschwitz with their owners and there are 

no heirs left? No children, no grandchildren? ICHEIC must have 

those names. Don’t you think it would be a nice gesture, as Mr. 

Zabludoff said, that ICHEIC should come forward and say, ‘‘Yes, 

we really should come forward,’’ and say, ‘‘Yes, we should do something for these people who are in need.’’ Because those policies 

were paid but there is nobody to claim it. What would be such a 

big thing? They are billionaires. They are still selling insurances. 

And I would think that would be a wonderful, wonderful, humanitarian—you know, they sent me $1,000. Big deal. 

I could have been without $1,000, Mr. Chairman. But there are 

thousands and thousands of Holocaust survivors who are in need, 

and that money they are holding on to, that was owned by human 

beings, by fathers and mothers and grandfathers. Like I said, the 

policies were burned up with their bodies in Auschwitz and Dachau 

and Buchenwald. Is there such a thing that you could tell the 

Generali Insurance Company, ‘‘Hey, where are those names?’’ We 

can’t produce the policies. We can’t prove the bodies. They are 

gone. 

And I just speak like a layman, Mr. Chairman; I have no higher 

education, unfortunately. Hitler didn’t allow me to get into a higher 

education because I was a Jewish young boy. But I think that 

would be wonderful if the committee would look into it. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you, Mr. Rubin. And that was one of the primary points of the legislation, which is to require the disclosure of 

the policy records from that period of time and then allow those 

that are identified and anyone else to then have the opportunity of 

a Federal cause of action. So I, and I think all the members of this 

subcommittee, could not be more sympathetic with what you are 

saying. 

Mr. Taylor? 

Mr. TAYLOR. I just want to add, I am not in a position to evaluate many of these issues relating to ICHEIC overall, but there are 

people who participated, there are Holocaust survivors who did 

participate from Israel and the United States. 

Just in terms of context, just for the record, I think it is important that it is understood that when one talks about the total insurance market, what ICHEIC was dealing with was only that portion of the market that was covered by companies that were par-
77

ticipating or were covered by ICHEIC. So when one looks at the 

percentages and the total amounts, it is important to understand 

not all companies—and there were many areas of the market that 

were not included. 

And also, there were obviously issues of companies that went out 

of business. And what their proportion of the market was and who 

is responsible for them was, as I understand it, also a complex 

issue. And you had this issue of valuation which was also not a 

black-and-white issue, in terms of what value a policy was at; 

whether it was—as the position of companies in these issues tended to be—that if a local currency was issued in Pengo and so on, 

then they may have been worthless, and therefore the policy is 

worthless. 

But there were, I think in its context, important to bear in mind 

that, before the ICHEIC process, for 50 years there were no payments to anyone. There were no humanitarian payments, no payments of policies. So I just wanted to put that into context. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you. 

Mr. Gallegly? 

Mr. GALLEGLY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

And to start with, I want to echo the comments of the chairman 

in wishing Beverly well in her new endeavors and new life in Denver. It is going to be a big change. 

And I thank you for the personal service you have given me 

when you served on my subcommittee, when I was chairman and 

all with my predecessor Doug Bereuter and so on. Thank you very 

much, and Godspeed, Beverly. 

Thank you all for being here today. There has been some very 

compelling testimony, testimony that leaves a very indelible image 

on those of us that have studied this issue for a long time and for 

those that have not. But for even those of us that have heard so 

much for so long, it never ceases to amaze me how compelling testimony like this can be. And I thank you, because this is the real 

thing. This isn’t view graphs and flow charts and bureaucrats talking about resolution. This is the real thing, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Taylor, do you know if there are any real definitive numbers 

on the number of Holocaust survivors living in our country here 

today that are living at or below the poverty level? 

Mr. TAYLOR. I think a threshold question for us is who is a survivor. And that in itself is a very loaded and complicated and difficult question, because there are many different views. There are 

people who were in concentration camps. There were people who 

fled and escaped. So you have this whole question, and that makes 

a very big difference. 

There are certainly tens of thousands of people, primarily Nazi 

victims who came from the former Soviet Union, who fled, escaped 

Nazism and then came to this country in the 1990s who are Nazi 

victims and who are today in a very serious financial situation. 

The National Jewish Population study that took place that was 

quoted analyzed the background not only of those survivors below 

the poverty line but looked at who they were and when they came 

to the U.S. And a majority, an overwhelming majority of those people—and I think it was somewhere around 20,000 or 25,000 people—were primarily those new immigrants who had come to this 
78

country after fleeing the Soviet Union during World War II. They 

came with nothing. They came often with severe health situations, 

having lived under communism as well as having escaped the Nazi 

regime. 

And those are the people, certainly in excess of 20,000, who are 

below the poverty line and who are the target for the kind of social 

welfare programs, together with other survivors, of course. There 

are other survivors in need also, who are the target for the programs that we have funded from resources we have been able to 

obtain in the various restitution negotiations. 

Mr. GALLEGLY. So it is not just the economics. It is the complexity of establishing those that qualified clearly, that there is certainly enough out there that clearly we know are qualified. 

Mr. TAYLOR. Truly, there is a significant need, a very significant 

need, on the part of Nazi victims in the United States, and I should 

say also in Israel and in the former Soviet Union, where there are 

particular problems because you don’t have any social safety net, 

as you do in other countries, such as in Europe, the United States 

and Israel. In the former Soviet Union, you face the situation 

where there is no social safety net from the government. 

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Rubin, thank you very much for your testimony. 

I would maybe like to hear in your own words what you consider 

the most immediate needs of the survivors, not only here in the 

United States but, as Mr. Taylor said, in the former Soviet Union, 

in Israel and other places. Maybe we start with the U.S. to start 

with, and maybe if you want to extend to beyond the country. 

Mr. RUBIN. I think in the United States would have 90,000 or 

100,000 Holocaust survivors. And I know, in my own community, 

in Boynton Beach area, Boca Raton, there are people who are suffering. They have no food; they can’t pay for their medicine. The 

synagogue I belong to, we set up packages we bring out to their 

homes for holidays and for Sabbatum because they have no food. 

They have no way of going to the store. They are locked in. They 

are sick. They would need home care. They would need maybe 

somebody to stay with them 3 or 4 hours a day. And there is no 

money for it. The Jewish Welfare Services, Family Services, they 

have no money. 

And it is a terrible situation. It hurts me and it pains me to see 

this going on, to see the suffering. That is why I am so adamant 

about this, the way I tried to explain myself. A company like 

Generali, who sits on billions of dollars, and they know that the 

policies were given to these people. But, unfortunately, those policies were burned up with their bodies in Auschwitz, and there are 

no heirs, there are no children left, there are no grandchildren left. 

It would be a great help for the Holocaust survivors who are in 

need that a company like Generali would come out, ‘‘Yes, we took 

those monies from the people, and we cannot return it to them because they are not around.’’

Mr. GALLEGLY. Thank you. 

Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Moskovic? 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Yes, I would like to add something to that about 

the Holocaust survivor needs. I sit on the Advisory Committee of 
79

Jewish Family Services, which is South Florida, also on the Alpert 

Jewish Family Services, which is in West Palm Beach. 

The social services have the numbers who are the needy, because 

those are the people that they are helping. It would be very simple 

to find out what those numbers are, just go and ask them. They 

may not give you the names, because they are not allowed to do 

that by law. However, they are the ones that are helping the needy 

survivors, emergency grants, home care, and whatever else is needed. 

So that is the answer. I am on the committee, and even I am not 

allowed to know. All I know is, if there is a need that comes in, 

let us say for emergency grant because a person needs dental work, 

needs to fix his teeth, all I get is an application for approval that 

this person needs such and such. The money does not go to the 

needy survivor directly; it goes to the dentist. 

So I personally don’t see that there is a problem to find out, if 

you want to, who those needy survivors are in the country. 

Mr. GALLEGLY. If I could have one more question, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Taylor, could you give me your assessment as to how you 

would describe the way survivors are treated by the Claims Conference? 

Mr. TAYLOR. The Claims Conference invests a huge amount of effort in dealing with survivors in a way that is sensitive and concerned. Our board has a significant number of Holocaust survivors. 

We have Holocaust survivors on our staff. We have tried to secure 

sufficient resources, or additional resources, in addition to the direct payments for social programs. And the results are, we have 

managed to get to Holocaust survivors last year somewhere around 

$600 million worldwide in direct payments and in social programs. 

But it is not a question simply of how much money; it is also how 

we do it. And we have tried to do it in a way that is careful and 

as sensitive as possible to the needs of Holocaust survivors. 

Mr. GALLEGLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Evron, did you wish? 

Mr. EVRON. Yes, I would like to mention a few things. 

Number one, I understand the tragedy of the records by the 

Swiss banks and the records that were destroyed by the insurance 

companies. But I have to say that there is one thing good in Poland, there are good records about deeds. And people have the deed 

of the property in Poland, and Poland is doing absolutely nothing 

to return them. 

I mentioned already, as Mr. Zabludoff mentioned, that we have $1 billion in property to assist survivors but we need $40 billion. 

But I am saying $40 billion is the estimated value by the Polish 

Government of the Jewish assets in Poland. And I am sorry to say 

that, without pressure from the Congress, I don’t see that anything 

will happen. I went there and I had meetings with the Claims Conference that had succeeded in Austria, in Germany, and to have a 

delegation to Poland. We met with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister and everybody. Except promises, we didn’t get anywhere. 

I spoke with the president of the owners organization in Poland, 

and he told me that the only hope we have is that the United 

States would put enough pressure on Poland to do something on 
80

this subject. If the Congress cannot do it, put that adequate pressure and convince Poland to do something, I am afraid that in a 

few years we will meet again and it will be in the same situation. 

Poland doesn’t want to return property. And they—I don’t know 

who knows Hebrew, there is a saying in Hebrew—they say you 

cannot kill and inherit. But that is exactly what they did. Three 

million Jews were killed there, and the assets are being taken 

away by the Polish Government. They are inheriting the assets of 

the Jews. This is unacceptable. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Mr. Chairman, I have some personal experience 

with ICHEIC, and I have some documents over here. Could I have 

a couple of minutes just to tell you what my personal experience 

was? 

Mr. WEXLER. Certainly, yes. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Thank you. 

Mr. WEXLER. Could we do this, Mr. Moskovic? Mr. Engel has 

been sitting very patiently, and I think he has an appointment that 

he must go to. So with your permission, I would rather go to Mr. 

Engel, and then when Mr. Engel is done, we will go right back to 

you, if that is okay. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Engel has been deeply involved in Holocaustrelated issues for many, many years, and it is my great pleasure 

to turn to Mr. Engel for questioning. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I hope you will 

indulge me for a minute or 2 while I make a brief statement. 

I want to first thank the panelists. Very moving testimony. Unfortunately, we have heard a lot of this before, and it is just a 

never-ending source of frustration and aggravation to me that here 

we are, in 2007, sitting here and hearing the same thing, Mr. 

Rubin, Mr. Moskovic. It just boggles my mind. 

We all know about the genocide and 6 million people killed because they happened to be Jewish. But now we don’t only look at 

genocide, we look at robbery, thievery. The thieves weren’t just 

Nazis. The Swiss Banks stole billions of dollars from so-called unclaimed Jewish accounts. They finally settled for $1.25 billion—

much, much less than there was. There were tens of billions of dollars of assets in bank accounts and in insurance policies, as you 

mentioned, gentlemen, artwork, dental gold, personal property. You 

name it, we can add it. 

And it just irks me that these insurance companies have the gall, 

in New York we would say ‘‘chutzpah,’’ to claim that if an insured’s 

name doesn’t appear on the Stato Fine list, the policy was cancelled 

or redeemed. 

I think, Mr. Rubin, you said it well when you said the policies 

were paid, but no one has claimed them; and so these insurance 

companies have their cake and they eat it, too. Because they claim 

on the one hand that—they assume that—if you can’t produce it or 

prove it, that the policy was either never there or redeemed. But 

what about all these policies that can be proved of people who perished? They are, again, stealing. 

It is just—if the name doesn’t appear on the Stato Fine list, they 

say the policy was cancelled or redeemed. It is like the saying, 
81

‘‘There is no doughnut on the counter, it means you have eaten the 

doughnut.’’ It is bad logic, and I just cannot see why it is accepted. 

I have a constituent; his name is Mr. Sello Fisch. He has a copy 

of his father’s insurance policy. An Italian insurance company, 

Generali, produces no other facts other than the negative evidence 

of its lack of appearance in the Stato Fine records. And of course 

ICHEIC has denied his claim, and he has the policy in his hands. 

He has shown it to us. I have written letters to everybody, and to 

no avail. 

Again, I know you gentlemen pointed out about the Federal Appeals Court yesterday extending the time for a major lawsuit. I am 

happy about that. But either way, we need to pass this bill. And 

Mr. Wexler has been a champion, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen as well. I am 

proud to be an original co-sponsor of this bill. 

And I want to thank you gentlemen for your personal, compelling 

testimony. I know this is not easy for you. And when I think about 

what you have gone through and the fact that we are kind of making—we are adding insult to injury by not doing what we should 

do. 

Let me ask Mr. Evron, since you had mentioned Poland, I was 

going to talk about Poland. Again, the problem is there are properties. The Nazis stole them, and then the Communists came in 

and nationalized them. So it is insult to injury. 

I tell you, it reminds me of when I went back to the little town 

in Ukraine where my grandparents came from. They escaped the 

Holocaust only because they emigrated before the war. But their 

parents, my great grandparents, were murdered. And when we visited, we saw the last Jewish cemetery that was in this little town. 

And they told me that there were three Jewish cemeteries, but that 

after the war all the cemeteries were desecrated, and then the Soviets built housing on two of the cemeteries. So what the Nazis 

didn’t get, the Communists got. And that has been a thing that we 

have. 

In Poland—we all sent a letter, just a few months ago, to President Bush raising concerns over all these unresolved Holocaust 

property restitution issues in Poland. And we urged the President 

to raise with Polish President Kaczynski these property restitution 

issues, which affect thousands of United States citizens. So I want 

you to know that we are attempting to put pressure on it, to highlight it. 

I know you say congressional pressure. I wanted to ask you, 

where do we stand now on all these issues in Poland? What can 

Congress do, besides passing this bill, in putting on pressure? 

Mr. EVRON. I suggest, number one, that another resolution 

should be sent to the Polish Government, as I mentioned, to remind them that this is an urgent issue they have to address. 

I think also that maybe the Congress can assign a special committee to keep follow-up on this restitution law in Poland, because 

they cannot continue to promise and promise and promise. I have 

a promise from the first President of Poland, Mr. Lech Walesa, in 

1988. He says, ‘‘In a few months, we will have a restitution law.’’ 

And now we are almost 20 years after that and nothing happens. 

The Congress must have the power to do something. Unfortunately, all due respect to the White House, I am afraid that they 
82

have the wrong attitude, by thinking that putting pressure on Poland on this issue might affect their assistance in Iraq, which I 

don’t think it is the right thing. I think that Poland decided to help 

us; it is their decision. And you can tell your friends like Poland, 

like you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, that they are wrong. You can 

tell them when they are helpful, and you can tell them when they 

are wrong. 

And that on this issue, they are very wrong. People are dying. 

We lost, this year, six members of our organization, and those died 

with bitter feeling that there is no justice in Poland. They lost their 

families, and now Poland is taking also their homes. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you. 

Mr. Taylor, did you want to comment? 

Mr. TAYLOR. Yes. The Claims Conference had a meeting in Warsaw back in February of this year, and we requested and finally 

obtained a meeting with Prime Minister Kaczynski. We met with 

the President previously, but the Prime Minister had direct responsibility for this issue. And he talked about the intention to have 

property restitution legislation. It is complicated by the factors you 

mentioned, obviously of Communist-era taking. 

What he did say was that the government would bring legislation, that they would make every effort possible to pass it by the 

end of the year; that there was draft legislation and we would have 

an opportunity to comment on that legislation. It was very problematic, both in terms of the substance—it provided simply for 15 

percent payments, 15 percent of today’s value—but it also had procedural requirements that would have made it virtually impossible 

for claimants outside of Poland to obtain the legal papers of ownership and the proof of heirship. Both of those issues we pressed very 

strongly. Nothing ever moved, and unfortunately now we are in the 

election phase in Poland. 

But hopefully soon, once a new government is established, it is 

an issue that Congress can take up, both on the substance and on 

the process. And perhaps, at that time, a hearing by this committee, by the Europe committee, inviting, perhaps, the Polish authorities to present their position, would certainly be a helpful step 

forward. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Taylor, let me ask you—and I know you have 

worked on this for so many years. I have known you personally and 

your family personally for so many years, and I want to thank you 

for your hard work. 

What about Germany? What are the open issues pending with 

Germany which will affect the quality of life for Holocaust survivors? 

Mr. TAYLOR. There are a few different issues. The most important is our effort to secure additional funding for home-care needs. 

Without doubt, that is the major priority for us. Initially our breakthrough was 3 years ago, where, up to then, the German Government’s position was that home care was not an area that they 

would provide funding for. They would deal with individual compensation and with property issues, but not with funding for home 

care. So that is the prime, most important issue that we have. And 

our current funding expires at the end of this year, so we are now 

going into negotiations with the German Government on that. 
83

A second issue is for those people who did work in ghettos, 

where, partly due to the efforts of this committee and those of you 

who signed letters and took an active role, the German Government has now established a fund of about $140 million. How that 

fund will operate, what the criteria will be, how much will ultimately get paid out and so on are issues we are discussing with 

Germany at the moment. 

And then thirdly, there are still some groups of people, despite 

the huge breakthrough we had a few months ago, of potentially 

adding 6,000 new pensions—6,000 new pensions—about $250 million. Despite that, there are still some groups of survivors who 

were in camps or ghettos or in certain kinds of areas, and that is 

the group that we continue to press the German Government to include. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wonder if I could ask 

Mr. Taylor one more question which is not specifically on this but 

which is certainly related. 

Could you talk a little about the status of the restitution of 

looted art? Because this is an important issue, and I really believe 

that a congressional role here can be very helpful. 

Mr. TAYLOR. I think, of all the areas of Holocaust restitution, the 

issue of looted art and cultural property has lagged behind virtually all other areas of restitution. 

I think this is for a number of reasons. Partly, information is 

very hard to come by. The art world and world of cultural property 

tends to operate with very limited documentation or information. 

The items are easily transportable, so something that is taken in 

France could be brought to Germany, through Switzerland, and 

end up in the United States. 

There was a congressional hearing on this subject back in the 

summer of last year that addressed the issue, including art in the 

United States, because a lot of art from that era ended up in the 

United States. And we think there are two main avenues of approach. Firstly, providence research; that museums and private individuals, but particularly museums, research what is in their collection and make that information available. And, secondly, a fair 

liberal claims process. And that is something that in some countries there has been success with and in some countries not. 

And I think it is a very important issue because it is not just an 

issue of another country, this is an issue that affects the United 

States just as much as everywhere else. And I think the hearing 

last year was extremely important, because it sent a message to 

these countries that this is not about the United States saying you 

have to do this, that or the other. It is saying, we all have an issue 

here, and we all have to address this issue. 

And I think heightened scrutiny and discussion on this art restitution issue, on providence research, and on claims process is an 

important step, and public attention is very important. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you. 

And I want to conclude by, again, thanking the chairman for calling this hearing and for his work through the years of being very 

dogged, in terms of zooming in on this and not letting it go. So I 

want to make a pledge, I will continue to work with the chairman. 
84

And let me assure you, gentlemen, we are not going to let this 

issue drop. We are going to push it as hard and as heavily as we 

can. 

Thank you. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Engel. 

It has been a very long day. I very much appreciate the time. 

Mr. Moskovic, you had wished to speak to some documents that 

you had. 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. Yes. Thank you. And this won’t take very long. 

In the year 2000, I applied for some monies from ICHEIC for my 

family. A few months later, I have received from them in the mail 

a claim number. In case I called them up, I should refer to the 

claim number. Then, for a few years, nothing happened. One day 

I happened to be surfing on the network, and I got on the ICHEIC 

Web site. And I looked under my name, and guess what? I found 

the name of my father on the Web site, my uncle’s name and my 

name, that we had policies. 

So I called up ICHEIC, and I talked to a young lady over there, 

and I gave her my claim number and all the other information that 

she needed. And I said, ‘‘Is there any information about my uncle, 

my father and me, about having policies?’’ She said, ‘‘We don’t have 

any information about that.’’ I said, ‘‘Well, why is it on your Web 

site? Because you said that, from now on, you are going to be publishing the names of policy holders on the Web site.’’ So she said, 

‘‘I don’t know.’’ So I said, ‘‘Why don’t we go to the Web site together 

and let’s see?’’

So we went through their Web site. Sure enough, those three 

names appeared. Then she said, ‘‘Yeah, but I don’t have it on my 

records.’’ So I said, ‘‘Look, why don’t you put it on my record and 

let’s see what happens.’’ So she did, and lo and behold. 

Then about a year or so passed, and I received the mail from 

them that I am entitled to $1,000 from the humanitarian fund, for 

which they sent me a check and also said that they are going to 

keep an eye on the records and see if anyone in my family has a 

policy. That was the last time I heard from ICHEIC. 

Mr. WEXLER. Did they ever share with you why the names were 

there to begin with? 

Mr. MOSKOVIC. No. 

Mr. WEXLER. Well, you gentlemen have proven the point that 

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and I could never prove as well as 

you: All of these issues deserve their day in court. I think that, to 

me, is the only acceptable answer, and that is the only way people 

like yourself and others will have even the opportunity of a semblance of justice. And that is the compelling reason why we filed 

the legislation in the first place. I cannot thank you all enough. 

If I may just close with what I think is the all-encompassing nature of much of what has been said in terms of what needs to be 

done. We have talked about the legislation, but what is also 

brought home to me, if I understand it correctly, is that a substantial portion of the monies that are used for the benefits directly 

paid to survivors come from the restitution that has been provided 

from property programs and the like. And that makes the urgency 

of dealing with Poland even more central to the critical goal of 
85

quality-of-life issues, whether it be home care, drugs, food, or other 

quality-of-life issues. 

It seems to me that, only with a satisfactory result of the restitution issue in Poland—Mr. Evron, I am very pleased that you provided the estimate that the Polish Government provided $40 billion 

worth of Jewish assets in Poland—that if a portion of those assets 

were realized and then devoted to the acute needs of the survivor 

communities, that we would again begin to have some level of decency in terms of the provisions and the resources available. 

Mr. Taylor, I think you have made that case extremely well, and 

I thank you very much for your testimony. 

For anyone who our schedule has impeded on the holiday this 

evening, I do apologize. I really do. I was reluctant to have this 

hearing today, but this was about the only time we could do it. 

Gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. Mr. Gallegly was 

correct in saying that you provide a level of compelling testimony 

that cannot in any way be duplicated. And myself and the other 

members of the subcommittee will follow up on each and every one 

of these ideas. 

Thank you very much. 

The subcommittee is adjourned. 

Mr. RUBIN. And we want to thank you and your committee for 

doing this for us, for the Holocaust survivors. Thank you very 

much. 

[Whereupon, at 3:50 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

Æ