JUSTICE - No. 66

14 No. 66 JUSTICE and more than $200 million in audit fees paid by the Swiss banks, the Volcker committee issued its report, finding that some 54,000 accounts had “probable or possible”Jewish owners, and over 20,000 almost certainly did. The Swiss government remained uninvolved, putting the full burden on the private banks. I had led a 1997 interagency study showing that the government’s central bank had helped finance the Nazi war effort by trading Swiss francs in return for gold they knew the Nazis had stolen from the coffers of the central banks of the countries they overran. Under the combined pressure of Edgar Bronfman, sensational Senate hearings chaired by Senator Al d’Amato of NewYork, class action lawsuits against the Swiss banks, my mediation on behalf of President Clinton, and the critical intervention of U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman, the Swiss banks agreed to a staggering settlement of $1.25 billion. Ultimately, an amount exceeding the settlement was distributed to more than 458,000 Holocaust victims and certain heirs worldwide, as a result of several distinct claims processes for unreturned bank accounts, slave labor for German as well as Swiss-owned entities, looting and refugee status. The Swiss bank settlement led to class action suits against German slave and forced labor companies that had employed Jewish and non-Jewish slave laborers, often working the Jewish inmates to death, with respect to which I mediated a settlement of $5 billion (10 billion DM) in July 2000, which included $350 million for unpaid insurance policies. It was the first time Germany paid compensation to non-Jewish former forced laborers, who then, in January 2001, actually got the majority of the funds. I mediated an $800 million settlement against Austrian companies for the use of the forced labor on the territory of Austria, along with an agreement with the Austrian Government creating a fund of $210 million for the confiscation of Jewish private property in Austria. Another novelty of international law during the Clinton administration was my negotiation with 42 countries in 1998 of the Washington Principles on Nazi-confiscated art, establishing principles for the identification, publication, claims and return of some of the 600,000 artworks the Nazis had stolen. The Washington Principles were amplified and broadened by the 47 nation Terezin Declaration, which I negotiated in 2009 in the Obama- Biden administration. Although not legally binding under international law, their moral force has had a profound impact on the art world. Five countries (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, and the UK) have established claims commissions to adjudicate claims against public museums that hold these looted artworks. In 2018, the U.S. Congress passed the Just Act, calling on the State Department to report on the implementation of the Terezin Declaration by its signatories, including the Netherlands, which it did in August 2020. Only a few weeks ago, a Dutch committee established by the Minister of Education, Science and Culture, issued a stinging report critical of the process and policies employed by the Dutch Art Restitution Commission, perhaps leading to the resignation of its chairman. Thousands of paintings have been restituted or compensated due to the Washington principles and Terezin declaration. The two major art auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, have created full time staff positions to ensure that they do not sell or auction Nazi- looted art. Christie’s has resolved over one hundred claims. Monetary compensation or restitution are not the only ways to deal with violations of human rights and genocide. Another effective way is the creation of truth and reconciliation commissions, such as the one in South Africa created by Nelson Mandela. These can avoid divisive retribution and lead to healing by giving victims a forum to narrate their mistreatment. This was never done in post-war Germany. Holocaust Education Is Now More Critical Than Ever During the initial post-war years, the Claims Conference was fundamental in providing critical funding forYadVashem,Yivo, Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris and the Weiner Library in London. The Claims Conference devoted a small part of the proceeds from unclaimed East German property for Holocaust education, research, and documentation. At its peak a few years ago, the Claims Conference was the largest funder of Holocaust education, up to $18 million per year. But as the fund has dwindled, only a small fraction is available at a time when Holocaust awareness has dramatically dropped. In a recent major survey by the Claims Conference, 48% of American millennials and Generation Z could not name a single one of the more than 40,000 concentration camps or ghettos established during World War II; 56% were unable to identify Auschwitz; 63% did not know that 6 million Jews were killed. Remarkably, 11% believed Jews caused the Holocaust. Roughly half have seen Holocaust denial or distortion posted on their social media platforms. However, the bright spot is that