In addition, Feldman is chairman of the Working Group of the German Association for Business History, the 80-member umbrella group of historians working on the investigations of various German companies' activities under the Nazis. Feldman, who is American and makes a point of noting in interviews and speeches that he is Jewish, believes passionately that the aging victims of Nazi crimes should be compensated quickly, before they die. But he fears that the whole issue is getting badly polarized and that attempts by companies and the German government to form a compensation fund could dissolve in acrimony. On Nov. 6, Business Week Online Contributing Editor Thane Peterson checked in with Feldman by telephone and discussed these and other concerns. The big constroversy is over whether that is adequate.
German industry feels that's about what it can afford.
But of course, not all of the firms have joined up. A lot of them are on the sidelines. The German government, which is cutting back programs, also considers this about all it can afford. They were supposed to negotiate on that next week but that has been suspended while they try to get more companies to join. The problem is that the German companies want protection against any further lawsuits, which in the U.S. is virtually impossible to give.