Dormant World War II bank accounts questioned

A five-member committee of state and local finance officers decided Tuesday it would not take action to boycott Swiss banks because of disservices done to Holocaust victims.

During the past three months, the committee has monitored Swiss compliance in activating dormant World War II bank accounts and returning the money to Holocaust victims and their relatives. The committee requested testimony from the Swiss government, the Swiss Bankers Association and the World Jewish Congress to judge whether sanctions should be implemented on the Swiss.

The committee will continue to search for a resolution by working with the World Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Restitution Organization.

Christopher Simpson, an associate professor of communications at American University, spoke March 26 at the Palmer Museum of Art regarding Swiss banks and their involvement with the plundering of Jewish gold and property.

- Pennsylvania state Treasurer Barbara Hafer

These valuables were hidden in Swiss banks, laundered to Sweden and sold on the international market, Simpson said. Actions should be taken against these banks, he said.

"Fruits from a crime do not belong to who took it," he said.

For the past 50 years, relatives and a few survivors from the Holocaust who had deposited money in Swiss accounts have tried to reclaim their assets with little or no success.

It is estimated that 66,000 accounts are still listed as dormant, according to the news release.

Tuvia Abramson, executive director of HILLEL: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, said the Swiss government knew for 50 years about the accounts and did nothing about it.

"Swiss have too long suffered immunity," Abramson said. "Being neutral doesn't justify criminal acts."

The Swiss government has set up an independent commission to search through bank records and trace unclaimed accounts. However, according to the Borders World Wide Web site, some bank officials demanded official death certificates, but concentration camps did not maintain such documents. Also, one bank was discovered shredding wartime records.

In reaction to these findings, many states threatened sanctions against Swiss banks. The Pennsylvania legislature introduced a bill in December prohibiting investment by the Department of Treasury in any bank under the authority of the Swiss. However, it was never passed.

"Frankly, it is an outrage that it's taken 52 years to make even this little progress," said state Treasurer Barbara Hafer. "Our job now will be to hold the Swiss banks to their word and see that every nickel is returned to the rightful owners."

University Professor Emeritus of plant nutrition Ernest Bergman, who lived as a German Jewish refugee in Switzerland for 12 years during World War II, said people should not blame the Swiss citizens for the actions of the Swiss banks.

"The way they (the Swiss banks) behaved, it takes over 50 years for the world to wise up," Bergman said.