H. Res. 557

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

October 9, 1998.

Whereas the Holocaust was one of the most tragic and complex horrors in this century, and survivors of that catastrophe are now reaching the end of their lives;

Whereas among the many atrocities committed by the Nazis

was their systematic effort to confiscate property illegally

and wrongfully from individuals, institutions, and communities solely because of religion or ethnicity;

Whereas the Nazi regime used foreign financial institutions

to launder and hold property illegally confiscated from

Holocaust victims, and some foreign financial institutions

violated their fiduciary duty to their customers by converting to their own use financial assets belonging to

Holocaust victims and denying heirs of these victims access to these assets through restrictive regulations and

unreasonable interpretation of those regulations;

Whereas in the post-Communist period of transition many of

the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have begun

to enact legal procedures for the restitution of property

confiscated or stolen from victims of the holocaust to

communities and to individual survivors of the Holocaust

and their heirs;
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Whereas, despite the enactment of legislation and the establishment of institutions to restore confiscated property in

a number of countries, progress has been slow, difficult,

and painful, and some countries have established restrictions which require those whose properties have been

wrongfully plundered to reside in or be a current citizen

of the country from which they now seek restitution or

compensation;

Whereas the Tripartite Gold Commission has now concluded

its activities, and under the leadership of the United

States established an international Nazi Persecutees’ Relief Fund, reached agreement with most of the countries

which had gold on deposit with the Tripartite Gold Commission to donate their shares to this Persecutees’ Fund,

and the United States has pledged to contribute $25 million to this fund;

Whereas two significant agreements have recently been

reached, the first between Holocaust survivors and private Swiss banks and the second between Holocaust survivors and European insurance companies, which represent significant first steps in the international effort to

provide belated justice to survivors and victims of the

Holocaust and their heirs;

Whereas the Department of State and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will co-host the Washington

Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets later this year in

order to review current efforts, share research across national borders, renew efforts to open Nazi-era archives,

and spur greater progress on the restitution of Holocaust-era assets; and

Whereas there is a growing international consensus and sense

of urgency that, after a half century of indifference and
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inaction, justice must be obtained for victims and survivors of the holocaust and their heirs; Now, therefore, be

it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes the great responsibility which the

United States has to Holocaust survivors and their families, many of whom are American citizens, to continue to

treat the issue of Holocaust-era assets as a high priority

and to encourage other governments to do the same;

(2) commends the agencies of the United States

government for their untiring efforts and for the example they have set, including the publication of the May

1997 and June 1998 reports on U.S. and Allied Efforts

to Recover or Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or

Hidden by Germany in World War II and the efforts to

return such assets to their rightful owners;

(3) commends those organizations which have

played a critical role in the effort to assure compensation

and/or restitution for survivors of the Holocaust, and in

particular to the World Jewish Congress and the World

Jewish Restitution Organization;

(4) welcomes the convening of the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets later this year by the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Department of State and expresses the hope that this conference will contribute to the sharing of information and
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will spur greater progress on the restitution of Holocaust-era assets;

(5) commends those countries which have instituted

procedures for the restitution of individual and communal property confiscated from Holocaust victims, and

urges those governments which have not established such

procedures to adopt fair and transparent legislation and

regulations necessary for such restitution;

(6) calls upon countries in transition in Central and

Eastern Europe to remove certain citizenship or residency prerequisites for individual survivors of the Holocaust seeking restitution of confiscated property;

(7) notes that former Communist countries which

seek to become members of the North Atlantic Alliance

and other international organizations must recognize

that a part of the process of international integration involves the enactment of laws which safeguard and protect property rights that are similar to those in democratic countries which do not require artificial citizenship

and residency requirements for restitution or compensation;

(8) commends those countries which have established significant commissions, such as the Presidential

Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United

States, to conduct research into matters relating to Hol-
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ocaust-era assets, to assure that information developed

by these commissions is publicly available, to complete

their major historical research efforts, and to contribute

to the major funds established to benefit needy Holocaust survivors no later than December 31, 1999;

(9) commends those countries and organizations

which have opened their archives and made public

records and documents relating to the Nazi era, and

urges all countries and organizations, including the

United Nations, the Holy See, the International Committee of the Red Cross and national Red Cross organizations, to assure that all materials relating to that era

are fully accessible to the public;

(10) urges all countries to develop and include as

a part of their educational curriculum material on the

Holocaust, the history of the Second World War, the

evils of discrimination and persecution of racial, ethnic

or religious minorities, and the consequences of the failure to respect human rights;

(11) appreciates the efforts of the government of

Germany for successfully concluding an agreement with

the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany on

matters concerning restitution for Holocaust survivors

from Central and Eastern Europe who have not yet received restitution, and urges the government of Germany
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to continue to negotiate with the Claims Conference to

expand the eligibility criteria to ensure that all needy

Holocaust survivors receive restitution;

(12) urges all countries to continue aggressive investigation and prosecution of individuals who may have

been involved in Nazi-era war crimes, such as the Government of Germany which should investigate Dr. Hans

Joachim Sewering for war crimes of active euthanasia

and crimes against humanity committed during World

War II;

(13) urges countries, especial Israel, Russia, Poland, and other Central and East European nations, and

organizations such as the International Committee of the

Red Cross and Israel’s Jewish Agency to coordinate efforts to help reunite family members separated during

the Holocaust; and

(14) directs the Clerk of the House to transmit a

copy of this resolution to the Secretary of State and requests that the Secretary transmit copies to all relevant

parties.

Attest:

Clerk.