IV
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 557
Expressing support for U.S. government efforts to identify Holocaust-era
assets, urging the restitution of individual and communal property, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 28, 1998
Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. HAMILTON, Mr. SMITH of New
Jersey, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FRANKS of New
Jersey, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BURTON
of Indiana, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr.
FOLEY, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. FROST, Mr. FRANK of Massachu-
setts, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HORN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MENEN-
DEZ, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SHERMAN,
Mr. SISISKY, Mr. WAXMAN, and Mr. WEXLER) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Rela-
tions
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for U.S. government efforts to identify
Holocaust-era assets, urging the restitution of individual
and communal property, and for other purposes.
Whereas the Holocaust was one of the most tragic and com-
plex horrors in this century, and survivors of that catas-
trophe 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
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and wrongfully from individuals, institutions, and com-
munities 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 con-
verting to their own use financial assets belonging to
Holocaust victims and denying heirs of these victims ac-
cess 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;
Whereas, despite the enactment of legislation and the estab-
lishment of institutions to restore confiscated property in
a number of countries, progress has been slow, difficult,
and painful, and some countries have established restric-
tions 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’ Re-
lief Fund, reached agreement with most of the countries
which had gold on deposit with the Tripartite Gold Com-
mission to donate their shares to this Persecutees’ Fund,
and the United States has pledged to contribute $25 mil-
lion to this fund;
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Whereas two significant agreements have recently been
reached, the first between Holocaust survivors and pri-
vate Swiss banks and the second between Holocaust sur-
vivors and European insurance companies, which rep-
resent 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 Hol-
ocaust Memorial Museum will co-host the Washington
Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets later this year in
order to review current efforts, share research across na-
tional borders, renew efforts to open Nazi-era archives,
and spur greater progress on the restitution of Holo-
caust-era assets; and
Whereas there is a growing international consensus and sense
of urgency that, after a half century of indifference and
inaction, justice must be obtained for victims and sur-
vivors 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 ex-
ample they have set, including the publication of the
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May 1997 and June 1998 reports on U.S. and Al-
lied 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 com-
pensation and/or restitution for survivors of the Hol-
ocaust, and in particular to the World Jewish Con-
gress and the World Jewish Restitution Organiza-
tion;
(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 will spur greater progress on the
restitution of Holocaust-era assets;
(5) commends those countries which have insti-
tuted procedures for the restitution of individual and
communal property confiscated from Holocaust vic-
tims, and urges those governments which have not
established such procedures to adopt fair and trans-
parent legislation and regulations necessary for such
restitution;
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(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 prop-
erty;
(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 simi-
lar to those in democratic countries which do not re-
quire artificial citizenship and residency require-
ments for restitution or compensation;
(8) commends those countries which have estab-
lished significant commissions, such as the Presi-
dential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in
the United States, to conduct research into matters
relating to Holocaust-era assets, to assure that in-
formation developed by these commissions is publicly
available, to complete their major historical research
efforts, and to contribute to the major funds estab-
lished to benefit needy Holocaust survivors no later
than December 31, 1999;
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(9) commends those countries and organiza-
tions which have opened their archives and made
public records and documents relating to the Nazi
era, and urges all countries and organizations, in-
cluding the United Nations, the Holy See, the Inter-
national 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 agree-
ment 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 to continue to ne-
gotiate with the Claims Conference to expand the
eligibility criteria to ensure that all needy Holocaust
survivors receive restitution;
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(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 inves-
tigate Dr. Hans Joachim Sewering for war crimes of
active euthanasia and crimes against humanity com-
mitted during World War II;
(13) urges countries, especial Israel, Russia,
Poland, and other Central and East European na-
tions, 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.
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