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Researchers at the C
Comments on th~ WOl"k Draft Historical Report of the Presidential Advisory
Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United.states
Gerald D. Feldman
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I would like
to preface these remarks by expression of my sympathy with the
difficulties of the task faced by the Commission and by everyone who did the leg-work.
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involved. On the on~ hand. there is an extraordinary amount of material available. On
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. the other,' thiie are huge gaps just where One would like to answers to key questions. I
am also cognizant of the difficulties irivolved in putting together so much material from
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what appears to have peen a set of disparate reports generated within the w~king group·
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in what.has dearly been too little available time. The report contains a great deal of
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infonnation and is vefy useful as a factual ~ccount of military, civilian, and private
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organizations dealing:with. Holocaust assets. It is not, however. a very connected
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document. The report seems to be pasted together and lacking in the development of
coherent themes in SllFh a way that one knows what the chief problems are. and what are
the key messages the authors intend to convey. This is rather swprising given the three
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of the reseatchstaff, wh;o are not known to be Rhy about saying what they think: .
or to be inexperienced in presenting their work. Is this their work or the distillation of
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their work? The report appears as an authorless composite, and one wonders what'the
criteria were for the selection 6f material and what was excluded and why. In some
respects, the report is itoo long for what it tells us and too short on explaining why.
varIous things ~appe~ed and what the most important issues are .
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I will now brl~fly tum attention to each of the chapters and mention problems that
drew my attention as ~el1 as comment more generally on them.
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I was quite astonished that the discussion of who was a victim was
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"forthcoming." (p. 3)iHow can one discuss the control and restitution of victim assets
when one does not have an agre~d.upon understanding of whom one is defining as a
victim? What., indeed:, is a "Holocaust asset?" Obviously we are dealing with more than
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those who either died in or survived the concentration camps, but are we. for example,
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dealing with Jews who left Germany in the early phases of the regime and took up
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not? This is not a trivial question since the German Govemment frequently deprived
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individuals of their, Citizenship by decree and held all their assets foneit to the German
Financial authorities thlle, under th~ 11 ell Decree of the Reich Citizenship Law of
November 1941, Jews, living outside the Reich were stripped of their citizenship and their
assets were declared fprfeit. However, German fmancial institutions, and authorities were
quite worried about b~ing sued in American and other foreign courts for the confiscation
of the assets of Genn~ Jews who already had taken up American or some other foreign
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citizenship and who co~ld not be deprived of a citizenship they had already surrendered.
If such person's assets are to be included in the scope of what is. .under discussion here.
then perhaps some di~cussion of the degree to. which we provided protection or sought to
provide protection for: the interests of such persons both prior to and after the end of the
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war deselVe consideration. In this connection, it-would be of interest to know the
position taken by our legal authorities toward. for example, the surrender of assets of our
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citizens to German au'thorities by Swiss insurance companies, banks, and companies
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operating in the Reic~. In any case. I think it important to deflne and discuss who the
victims are in order
to determine whether the major problems have been adequately
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covered and 1nvcs{iga:~ed. Let mc urge, however. that the report make no effort to,
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determine the magnitude of the' assets involved (p. 6). The Volcker Commission quite
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rightly decided not to trY this in their investigation and the Historical Commission of the
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Deutsche Bank has. also decided against making uncertain and tenuous' calculations in a
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fonhcoming study of Aryanizations. There are simply too many gaps in the information
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to establish viable glol?al estimates. and r would really want to be convinced. that there is
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· a viable way to extrawlate from what we know to what we do not know. The point I am
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, making here is, in factl made v,ery welLby the authors on page 409 of the Report. Also. T
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, think that the use of 1~99 values should be limited to where they make some kind of
sens.e. There is no pOi?t whatever in saying that a lieutenant using his cigarette allowance
on the black' market cduld pocket $12,000. or the equivalent of $110,000 today. in four
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months at that time. (p~ 41. See also page 66, pottom.)
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Chapter 2 provjdes important background information, and I have no problems
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with the facts presented. I do .have problems with the conclusion, which doe.~ not seem to
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" appear from. the next-t~';Ia.~t paragraph that the Army operated without guidelines. while
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the only engaged department back at home was Treasury. Certainly ~re should be said
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· about the implications ~f thjs situation, which deals with the central issues of the study.
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Clearly the context, w$ch is well laid out in the chapter, is important. but the context
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often seems to overwh~lm the central prol;>lem. It would be interesting to have an
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assessment in more cobcrete tenus of the job' d~ne by the army and military gov~minent.
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, the processes by WhiC~ decisions were made, and the personnel involved in order to have
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a deeper explanation '1f its successes and fallures. There is more of this in Chapter 5. and
it 'might be helpful to pull the material together in one place and expand on the problems.
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Chapter 3 'pro~ides a wealth of important infonnation, but leaves me curious
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about a few questions that may be of significance. I would like to know more about. why
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the US decided not to fespond',to Germany's actions in 1938-1939, (p. 85). and I would
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also be curious if Polapd was included in the freezing of assets discussed in the next
. paragraph.I'i.is not mentioned, but I presume this is ari oversight. I wonder if we could .
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not learn more. ! issue of looted. securities and the problem of the control of
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imported securities. (p~ 93)' There has been considerable discussion about the role of the
American banks in this area. especially Chase, and it would be useful
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to know if there is
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more information about this', How cooperative'w~re the bankS?, How energetic was the
con~lover their holdtngs in this area? Is there evidence of sUppage? The problem of
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looted securities is leftihanging in the conclusion to this chapter.(p. 139) With regard ,to
the discussion of geneiallicenses for the four neutral countries and the transfer of funds
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. from the United States [(po 100). how effective was blacklisting of companies belonging
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to Oerrilans that were 'icloaked" in controlling potential abuse of the system?
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I found
Chap~ 4
informative and con.vincing. However, on pageJ55 the reader
, is left hanging ~ to w~etheI' a standard.documenting proGedure was:ever adopted and is
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only told that it was still under review in May . . it was created, was it a good one?
1945. If
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tone about imperfections than it need be and less forthright than it might be about what
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might have been misse4 by way of assets or. petilaps, what has been found to' have been
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missed in subsequent ~ear8.
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Chapter 51s til~ed with important-information that really needS further
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development, and I ha~ the constant feeling that one was getting near-judgments but that
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off from expounding on them with evidential authority.
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turning o{the job of re~titution over to the Gennans is a terribly important issue and has
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obvious parallels with ~e denazification, which was also turned over to the Gennans.
The results of denazification, as historians now generally agree, were terrible, f1I'St.
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misco~ceived program and, second~ because the Gennans finished the
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job as miserably as we ~started it. 'As I read pages 253-2S9 and especially the specific,
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analogy made on page 257,.1 had the feeling that a more susiained and deeper discussion
was desirable. Turning to another matter. I was surprised to find no discussion of the
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effects of the currency reforril on different categories of restitution and how the
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knowledge of an impe~ding currency reform and the actual implementation of the refom
might have influenced the strategies of the parties involved. I also think that more needs '
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to be said about the rOlf of the JRSO in its role as an advocate of victim. restitution in
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the United States and its role as a. recipient and distributor of assets. The
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issue crops up in this chapter and then crops pp agam at the end of the next. I realize that
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this is an emotional ~~ pOlitical issue that is very "touchy," but I think. that this
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COmmission, which has turned up important 'new material, can help clear the air and raise
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the level of the unavoidable discussion and debate by providing a balanced assessment,.
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At the minimum, it needs to puUtogether what it has to say on this subject. . Similarly, the
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OAP story" needs explanation and more needs to be said ab"o~t whether anyone tried or
succeeded in, doing a..n~hing about the rather outrageous situation discussed on pages
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276-178, What were the relations between the OAP. on the one hand, and the IRSO, and
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The discussion:ofthe Jewish Cultural Reconstruction, Inc. is ex.tremely interesting
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and important, although the description of.Koppel Pinson's admitiistrative performance
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rather. ; as is the account of the handli.rig of the paintings. It might be
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worth noting in the text that Pinson was the author of what was the most widely used
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.. textbook ori-German ~story fora long time,
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and perhaps greater identification should be
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given 'to Hannah Arendt, Salo Baron, and Gershom.sholem. ' These were, after all, very
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important Persons in '~erican•.as well as Jewish. intelleeluallife. , Insofar as the.
paintings are concem~ here ag~ one really Ii~~ somewhere an evaluation of the role
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oftheJRSO, its accomplishments and its limitations. This is probably the chapter to do
it, but then some of the imatenal in earlier chapterS dealing with the JRSO 'in Europe
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needS to be~onside:red ~d perhaps placed here. The balance in'the chapter is rather
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strange since most of the chapter deals with cultural reconsnuction and then one gets a
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few pages on heirless a~sets.
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Chapter 7 does' ~ goop. job of presenting three big "screw-ups:' but what exactly'
is the poInt of separating them out like this un~ess they are really exceptional? Tile
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concluding sentence onipage' 353-,"Although they appear to be special cases, the degree
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to which they were exceptional is unclear. "-,.is really not very illuminating. If they were
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typical,then they have,4onsequences for the whole story being told.
Obvio~slythere!is a great deal more research and work. to be done-I was very
surprised to fInd no disdussion of how so much stolen art found its way into American
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museums-and there is :nothlng wrong with the Commission saying so 'and treating its
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report, which I hope will be revi.sed along some of the lines Ihave suggested. as a basic
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I do think that even now
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s~y somethin~ m~re about th~ roles played by the Cold War and the creation of the
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State of IsraeL In any case. ~Vlng read other reports produced by U.S. authorities and by
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other national comri.tis4ions abroad, I do fmd the report a bit too" descriptive and agnostic ..
when it comes to fanning a critical judgment about the major issues. At the very
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, minimum,ltnc¥ds, on ~he one hand, to state what failures.it considers overdetermined by
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the historical condition~. under which the actors operated ~d the unprecedented nature of .
the problems faced and~ on the other, where the actors faced genuine alternatives and
made wrong decIsions but of self-interest or questionable political and economic
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priorities. 1 presume that we will beinfoIlIled at the meeting about some of the policy
implications of what ha:s been found and wha.t the con~equences of the report are
,supposed to be.
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Professor JOnatbsn St~g. WakerH. AMwberg ~rofeuat of Modem E\\ropean Bisary .
'. Dep~tof.HJstOI)'. UnivemtyofPezmsyi'YBJlia,. 3401 Walnut Street. 347D
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.Connnems by Historical Coll$Ultant on the •
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WorldngD,raft, August 11,2000 .
. HISTORICAL REPORT
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The Presidential COIII1IIissIon on Holocaust Assets
In the United States
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The report,is well written, clear and bas been prepared in a professional. .
manner. It reads
tmlchofit is fhscinating; some orit ~ especially the aCcount of
the tate ofthe HungSrian."goId train" or the mess with the books loaned to DPs from
the OAD - quite disturbing. My uncle Phil (Rabbi Philip W. Bemstei:n) seems to have
playedaiiCquivoca1,part in spiriting the ''Scholem'' 1?ooks to Jerusalem.
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, Two ma{nJs~ues'emerge: the :first is the :funciion ofthis report. I am not clear
why it bas been prePared, to whom it is addressed and to what end. An account ofthe
treatment ofHolotaflst assetS in the USA bas no need oflong historical excursionS Or'
descriptions ofwhat: was found in the Merkers mine. A report which simply set out
the legal issues, li8ted the holdings and dealt with the problem ofc1ahnauts would be
quite adequate for the pote.nti.a.1 claimants. I suppose there are lessons to be learned
from the treatment o~ assets in the aftermath of the war but they are pretty general,
apply to a period which is unlikely ever to be repeated, and to an American
administnnion which bas moyed on in the past fifty years. I may have missed. .
something here, but,!.ifI have not, a more substantial description ofthe report and a
more explicitjUStiiidation should ~ setout in the introd~ and there will, I trost,
be a proper conohlsu)n at the end.
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The other reservatkm conqerns estimates oftotaI. claims. The paragraph on
"how riluch?' [ppS.,,6] must be cut and no other such calculations should be made.
There at'e two reasons fur. my strong aversion to glo hal guesses about the value of
Holocaust assets. They
firstly, impossible to do, as the authors themselves
concede, a:nd, secondly, dangerouS. The press likes billion dollar sums and will blow
,them up. Ani1.semt.t.bs in GeiInany, Austria and Switzerland Will immediately point
to further greedy cJa4ns by l4J~ws~ and cauSe trouble. We have no need, to give these
creatures free ammuriition.
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Finally, there ,must be a glossary ofterms. "Escheat" '\rest" etc are not
household words. "I'bere must also be a good llst ofabbreviatiollS and pOssibly a guide .
to the various JewiSh ,organi7.ations, whose names and abbreviations are simply
impossible to remember and keep separate.
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/p. 12 line 6 .~'80.0o<Y:.' Ger:tnan, bureaucrats handle restitution in ~y. \Vb,ere
"does that number come from?'
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~"nordic" and not "inferior".
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Footnotes 3 to6 are fCreble. 11lere are plenty ofbetter sources tllan BWlock's ancient
biography of Hitler. ~hichin hiS plain English common-sense way does not take
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Hitler' s 1deol~gy seriously. A few quotes froiD. Mein Kampf,Rosenberg~s t~yth of
the TwentietbCe~", Hitler's 30 Janmuy 1939 "prophesy" or his "table taJk~
would do the job. I
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p. 18, line.6 ReichijZuchtsteUeT could not haVe been instituted Under a democratic
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republic. Foreign e}Cchange contro~ on the other b.and, were.
p. 25 The account:ofth.e mission ofthe Eirisatzgruppen is wrong. The text should
read; "Their initial pmsion has never been entirely clarified by historians, and tp.ere
are conflicting accounts given by those SS leaders who stood trial after the war..
Docurt.tentary evidence does exist which shows that Bolshevik functionaries in civil
and milita.r.Y adminIstration and male Jews were to be singled out and executed. In
AUgust 1941, ofd~ appears to have been given to extend the killing to Jewish
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women ~ childrep. 8.nd old people over 65". Cite Christopher Browning or
Cbrlstian Gerlach's recent work for the latest stage ofresearch. .
. p. 26 line 4- The aet~ treatnlent ofSoviet POWs is complicated. The 'sentence .moUld
read: "In due course, Soviet prisoners ofwar were ullowed to starve or were deported
to theR.eich fur forCed labor. Estimates indicate that more than two· million POWs
perished between 1941 and 1943." Footnote Christian Sb'eit and Christian Gerlach.
-P 26 li~e8 4.5 not 'fror the Iewish race in Europe" but ·'fortbe Jewish question".
:ft. 27 ft. 44 iBBett "r" in "ennorderten"
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'. p. 273 pat'agraph.i An exact description and numbers for so-called ''MelmerH
deliveries·can be fo~ in JO;oatban Steinberg, ~ Deittsche Bank and its Gold: .
transactiOns in,the Second World War, (Munich: Verlag CoHo Beck) 1999) pp 33·6
-Po 3S line 8 t Lt Gen, Lucius Clay "also loomed large over this period". What is that
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.p; 3 6, 1;"( ~ EaCh 2pD8l Commander did not become ''soveregrr' in his
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--po 37 a 79 iMert t'r~ in "alliiertern and lower case "a" ,
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zone.
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p. 147 line 1 up; Ob~rgruppen.fiihreT (his SS rank) Kefl Wolf is better than "General" ,
becauSe he was a "General der PoJizei" and nOt the Webrmacht··
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p. 160 line 11 sp8.celbetween·"be" and "captured~
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p. 257 line 2 uP Federal not "F.E.D.eral" '
p. 258 line 12
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p. 284 the JRSO's Chai'ges: were they fair? un:fuir? Should the authors not comment
On them?
p. 286 'line 2up should read "Baden-Wuerttembergn not the other Way round.
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p. 288 n.29 line 3uPl"conseil" and ~'Udischen"
p. 289 n. 31, line It Leo Baeck not "Boeck"
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. p. 289 ,How did the great H~ Arendt g~ the job as Exec. Sec. of the JCR? Some
grap~ here ~. Cite EHzabethYoung~Bruehl her biographer for 1;he reference.
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COMMENTS ON DRAFT 11lSTORICAL REPORT·
Presidential AdVisory ColDIIlission on Holocaust Assets in the United states
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Marion F.·Deshmukh
Department of History and Art History
George Mason Umversity·
. F~ Virginia 22030'
(703) 993-2149
(703) 993..1251 (Fax)
e-mail: BFhmpJs@gmu.edu
1 September 2000
1. General Comments on entig; draft:
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Overall, the report is an.extensive examination of Holocaust era assets which Clll11e under
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Am.erican possession during the Nazi era aDd wartime. These'assets were received in a
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variety ofways.
Some~
such as patents. stock certificates, or bank accounts ofenemy
nationals were seized ~r :frozen in the US during the 1930s and after war was declared.
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As American troops. oci:upied Nazi-occupied Europe, the military and later,
occupation
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forces served flS custodians for an incredible &m01Jllt and variety of materials, some of
which had important historical, religious! or artistic value in addition to monetary value.
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As the ~rt'suggests.;the 8rchiVal do~n related to the US records and OMGUS
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records located in the ~atiOnal Archives runs to over SO ~on pages. It is obvious that
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the Commission could only skhn some of this material in the limited time period allowed
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for the. Commission's project. The report should state at the onset) however~' the
parameters of its tese~ and the report's overall goals. It is.difficult to ascertamhow
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studies on related themes, such as the EiUnstat voh.unes on the attempts to recover gold
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and Swiss bank accounts. Secondly~ it would be very helpful for those who will be using . .
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the commission's report to have a detailed and annotated bibliography ofarcbiv~ and
secondary references which its authors consulted appended to it for easy reference. It
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. the US and abroad wbfuh may contain material related to Holocaust assets but were not
utilized.
.. As mr asilie overallistructure and organization ofthe report ' "
is cOncerned, this reader
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feh that each of the chaPters deals with materials which do not necessarily relate to
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or subsequent chapters. Conversely> there ate redundancies.
especially between infoImation provided in Chapter II and chapter V.. It appears that
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individual chapters wer~ \Yrltten by differen~ subconunittees or authors. The team leaders
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ofthese subcommittees; may wish to meet collectively to reconcile some of the anomalies
in the,feport as" a . whole.1
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Chapter 1: Rename thiS an intro4uction and historiographical overview. In this sectio~
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report. The authors o~ the organization of the chapters that follow. In chapter II, the
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authors present a gener~ history ofthe rise ofNazism, World War IT and US occupation
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ofGennanyand Austrl9r after 1945. Much ofchapter n is quitegenerw, relyirig on
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scholarship already published. Also •. subsequent chapters detail more precisely some of
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the issues described (~h as the US freezing fu:iancial assets dunn,g the ~ly 19408).
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, Thus it can be radicall~ condensed' . ' for the repolttO fucus on Holocaust assets ~ .
in order
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the us.
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Chapter IT: ThiS chai>t¢r probably needs t.he most revision mterms oforganization and
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solution
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itS rather disorganized character, al~rnating as' '
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and the obscure de~" .,:. to break it up into
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died in World·War II. IMost historians believe around.SO million perishedfu the contlict.
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.sections A, S,'aridC it1 section
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("Holocaust Victims, As~ts,and the Urrlted states").
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· covers materil¥ DlUCli ~er described 41 ~Ondary accounts oft~e Holocaust and World'
· WarU.For exaIDple~~ briefS\mlI11a:ry of~ ~rk~fHilberg, Bau~r, YalUt orthe other
. .' 'H:oloc8Ust historlfms JOuld
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~ce for a repo~ ofthls ~tme..,..In seetion IT CUiiited'"
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, States Agencie~ andC9ntrol ofVictims' Assets"),tbe ~ve immediately'piunges into
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a detailed de~cription ofExecutfveorders, vestings,; and 's.eizures, without much'
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. pre1im.inary explicatiott of overaIl policy or cOntext. ' It maybe Qetter to separiite ~ctions
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A.B, and C. ,Section B overlaps the ,material covered in Chapter m and could be •.
removed since Cbapt~ ill is :rnuch more comprehensibl~ and detailed in explaining the M
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, FA and A's function ,at.war's end ~later.
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Chapter'ill: This ~~er, nicelY. reviews :the ~si~n oftheM F,Aand A and describes
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the diffioulties the officers faced given the shortage ofresources and policy priorities. A
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few sources are cOnfuSing'and a few are notably absent. For example:
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lmu;'/docprOj,19y~ia.edulJst is ~ited several ~e5 (ie: p: 158,'160),HquftbisJ'eViewer ~
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unable to eslablisha I$: to ~ site. The site appeared to be blank. "There are a fe~ m6~
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property: the William jCoDStable ~ all of which are inicrofilmed and located in the
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Archives of American!vt, Smithsonian Institution, and the archiveS of the United
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Restitution Organization (URO) whose contents were recently described in the American
Historical AsS9ciation's newsletter) Pe.rspectivest (38:4, April 2000. pp. 24-29) by:Anne
Rothfeld. According to its author, Rfue URO soon became the J.aI:gest legal aid ,
organization for the he~p of claimants of small f'mancial means." (24) "
'Chapter IV is' i'
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well organized and summarizes the e:tfortsat protecting objects in the
, custody ofAmerican ~ps.
Chapter V nicely descr~bes the restitution poliCies of the US govem.m.en.t in particular the
repatriatiOn ofobjects
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~hose owners cou14 be identified.
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Chapter VI is a straightfbrward account ofthedistribution ofJewish books world-wide
and the methods used to both track and to l'e-alJocate he1lless property, especially to the
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Hebrew University in ierusalem (pp. 30<)-13). The 'Darrative descn'bes the fact that the
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re.allocation was of~re pressing interest than the attempt to locate the owners of the
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books and materials~ uSing th.eexample ofthe 5 boxes of books and manuscripts which.
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without authoriiation, ~ere shipped to the Hebrew University. What was the uhimate
resolution of this episode? Did the books and ~uscripts remain in J.srael? On page 326.
the text states~ "On Mafch IS, 1949. the IRe Board ofDirectors decided ,to allocate 40%
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of the ceremonial obje~s to Israe~ 40% to the Western Hemisphere; and 20% to other
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countries. As part of the JeR's allocation ofceremonial objects to the Western
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Hemisphere, the United Kingdom was to teCeive 5.. 10.4, while South AtH~ Canada and
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Argentina were to rece~ve 5%. tt Why was the' UK and South Afiicaconsidered part of the
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Western Hemisphere? 1
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While the chapter contains a significant listing'
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of archival documentS pertaining to the
restitution and shipm~ts ofJewish objects (ceremonial, books, paintings), a few
additional· sources Could be consulted, s~b
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as Craig Hugh'Smyth's Repatriation ofArt
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,from the CollectingPo(nt in Munich after World War II. (The Hague. ,1988),. Whether
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such sources would re~ea1 other infonnation is difficult to ascertai.n, but it is incumbent
'uPon the Cofiiti'lission to seek out as many corroborating sources as possible. especially to
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understand the
relation~hipbetween OMGUS ~d the Jewish successor organizations,
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such as JRSO. '
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, Chapter Vll: This sect~on dealing with case studies'is intrinsically interesting but I '
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question the amount of space devoted to them, particularly the Hungarian Gold Train.
Some of the information can be summarized and simply the precedents and results given
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with archival sources c~ed. An alternative strategy would be to fold in th~se case studies
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into the relevantprece4mg chapters. When citing' the New York Times, specific page '
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l'lumbers should be given. In the conclusion. no mention is made ofthe obvious:filct of
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the Cold Wei: and Hungary being within the Soviet orbit as Ii fuctor in the US
gov~nt's re1uctanJ in retUrning obj~S to Hungary, though a hint of CoIdW~ ,
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issues is mentioned in tPe conclusion. Likewise~ in the section on the Becher ransom,
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page numbers should De cited (eg: Richard Breitman's Central European History article.
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382 as well ai mention Cold War issues.
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What was missing frotD. the report was a discussion ofHolocaust era assets which found
their waym the UnitediStates during th~ late 1940s through the 1960s and may still be
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contested property. Is :there. material in the archives' which traces this group ofassets t
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besides the assets descrlbed which found their way to libraries and Jewish museums?
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Another question which emerges from the.report is: how is this report to be used and for
whatpurpose? Is.it to Serve as a historical inventory of American policy in the 1930s and
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1940s? Ifso, how do~ it differ from traditional historical accountswbich were based on
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-archival hOldings? Is the report to be utilized as a guide for policy recommendations in
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the event that material assets come into the possession ofthe US during hostilities? It
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would. be helpful ifthe :report, either in its introduction or conclusion, more specifically
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states the overall purpo'se and conceptualization ofhs efforts. .
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September 4, 2QOO
Mr. ~ Shorer, Deputy Dii:~r
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Presidential AdviSOry Commission on Holocaust Asse1s
. in the.United Sta~s·
901 lSIh St.. NW. suite 350
flJP
Washillgton. DC 20005 USA;
. per fax: OOl-202-311~
Dear Mr. Shofer:
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Here-a few days late-ue my initiall"!:lacnons to the Draft RepOrt of the P;residential Commission
On Holocaust Assets in the United States (August 2000). I hope they w:ill be of some value to
yOll both in preparing :fur our meetWg on Sept. 11 in Washington and in revismg the report
1I:le:reafter. Should you wish to :reach me prior to that meet:ing, you will be able to do 150 on Sept.
7-8 via the fux number from which tbUlletter 1s being sent or by leaving a message for me upon
amval.at my hotel in Washington on the 9 th (One Washington Circle; phone: 202.. 872.1680).
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After reading the ;report, one can u:o.derstaIld the di:fficulties facing those who had to research and
write it. not to mention the eDOtmous problems CODfronting the historical protagonists. Still. I
can't.b.elp but pojnt out that the, report is not about its announced subject. It tells us very little
about Holocaust assets that might still be :in T.bc possessiOJl of American institutions. though it
df'ecti:vely suggests why few OJ;' none ~ probably still in the hands of the federal govemmeat.
The differen.ce is obvious oonc:emi.tts artvvorb. whim ~y are scattered L'lCitO$$ A.me.rioa,.
though not in federal repositories. Even within the pamm-ete:re. set 'by the enab1int legislinon. 'the
report provides oaly widely scattered estimates of the value ofassets fOUlld by AJnerican foreew
and institutiOD$ during and attertbe war, rcstit.u.te4, and-potentially lost or unaccounted for.
I Somewhere. preferably. the outset. thele ~ds to b~ an atte.mpt at tabulating at least the sorts of
vietims assets that.wete secured and restituted-both to victims mc:1 to other persons'.and enlities
-and of the sorts that might remain in the US, eve;u if not in possession ofthe federal govemmcnt,
in some way or anotbel". Difficult as this ta$k is, 11 is central to the purpose ofthe report. and its
absence is quite strik:i.n,g.
7
Even if such a tabulation is not possible. at minimum the report shoUld find a way to pull
together the numerow; ma:listics concerning properties seized and restituted that appear
throughout 1:he doCUlllIi!!Qt. The: reader ~$pe::rately needs some means of getting an overview. I
suggest that stich a. table be compiled. ONI.. Y in the dollar andI01' Reichsma:rk values of the time,
notln any foX1l.l that pulports to convert to prcsent.. da;y values (indeed, one of the rD.C?re confUsing
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features of this Iq)ort is the conversion :tactor, which appears to be quite inconsistent in different
parts of the docUment and is noWh~ laid out in black and white, so :tar as I CIIIl tell).
ThaI: being said, I also wonder about the organization of the report. Few "'ill read it for a
narrative history orus actions with regald to assets found in particu1a:rplaces (the US. Europe)
or banded back to ei~ vi~ of Jewish SU(;Ol:ssot organizations, which is how it is presented
Rather" the readersbip will want to know what happened to key categories of assets (gold,. stocks
and. bonds, art and personal obj~) ,casb.3 etc.) and why. 1 'think the oigamzation might be better
offfollowing such a pattem. In ally case, there is a good deal ofrepetition created by introducing
SOllie subjects hJ.:, say. Chapter 2, then returning to them in the appIopri.&le later chapter (and this
, organization strengthens the impression that the dooumeDt is be:ing drawn out in length to ~a.gk
the fzwt that it tells :readers relatively little about 1he subject for Which the Commission was
assembled: identi:fyi.rij rema.1ning assets :in .f1:dera1 or American bands). FiDally in this
connection, the report bears many ~gns having been composed in segments by different
teams. which ~ases the oVli:l"lappiDg and. repetitive eleme:nts of the presentation.
of
As a final general observation,. there is the matter oftone. In essence, the report argues that.l!JA1ly
victi:m.s· assets were stolen or lost in the early stages ofthe US ·ocCupation, but that the .American
authorities did the best they could under the circumstances. some ofthe Jewish organi7;ations
subcontracted for parts oftbe job also performed carelessly. and, in the end" a gre.at deal -was
returned-in fam. f.UUaZiDgly m:ucb-to ita p:oper owners, lbougb. sometimes with eXcessi\'ely long
delays. But the report does not quite have the co~ of its convictions :in this reglltd, The tone
is oooasionslly defensive:, occasionaUy apologetic, and. oCQlI5ion&11y critical. If the gist of1he
argu:m.ent is as I have stated. it, 1;hc:o. that should be stated more forthrightly at the outset ElDd
5mStained xno".e consistently ThrOughout.
Let me."I:J()W take up specific ob~ervations generated. by particulat passages. ete.
1. Chapter 1 is Solid., but needs to be. filled. out with the global figure on victims' assets tbat is
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.missing in my copy and with a lnatistical overview of the sort suggested above:.
2. pp. 22-23 are weak: concerning the val'Oe of what was seized in Austria, on which there is
£mly good statistical clata available. andou the pillaging pl'Ooess in Poland (the mo
HaupureuhandsteUe Ost--goes \ID.D.'1eD.tioned, as far as. I can tell).
3. pp. 27-28-the Dcgussa corp"Ol'll'I:ion~o smelted much ofthe Melmer gold-perbaps as much·
as'2000 kg ofFeingold resuJ.~ from those shipme:r:tts-notjust the Pl'U.S!Iia:D. State Mint.
pp.
3.,
105-25 are fascinati.i:lg (that Uncle Sam made $10,000 in royalties on .,LUi Marlene" is a
delicious &et), bll,t their relevance: is questionable without a d.isc\.'tssiQIi ofwbethet victims' assets
were in this m.are:rl81, which is the main theme, r d. shorten the section considera.bly, refocusing it
on the central quemoD and including only as much background or genc::ral. material as necessary
to understand that.
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4. l:find. the figures providEd tin pp. 121-28 re the blltiB1 value alld the sales proceeds of stooks
aDd bonds in e:st&.1:e.5, trusts, and asset:5 of cntCl:priaes vested. rather confusing. Tbeydon't appear
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to add up (6.6 million minus 3.1: million is 3.S lllillioD, not 3 million). and they seem to treat
unlikes (faoe value and sales p:cdceeds) as likes. I may have read too hastily, but this section
needs mathematical and conoeptual clarification, I think.
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5. The draft:in,g on pp. 159-60 is ron:fusWg in tbat,the fourth ci.rcc.tlar involved is mentioned
before the third. and two separate mentions Me xnade of the Goering collection as a subject.
paragraph needs to be- rewritten,:
Thfg
6_ pp.. 20S~16-it is surprising m, find no mention:in this section dealiug with thefts by US
personnel and DP~s ofthe famous case ofthe Quedlinbtirger Domschaetzc:. whioh were stolen by
an Alneriean G1 and bougln back from his heirs in Texas by ~ German fund raised for that
purpose only in the late 80s, as r recall.
7. I may have read TOO rapidly earlier in the manu:script, but it came to me as something of a
shock to discover on p. 232 that "Because the Offa;J.ba.ch Archiwl Depot was the 'only cen1:l'al
repositoIy of Jewish oultUJ:11l propeny in [theI u.s. zone.' its figures almost assuredly represent a
preponderance ofvictims" assets. "I: If so, this document should have focused on this iruttitution
quite a bit earlier.
8. Regar:ding the discU$$ion ofOc:nnan restitution. proceedings in so-called ~QD. cases in
the section tlun ends on p. 2S3~.I think some tightt;]; phrasing is in order. The matter is difficult to
generalize about. to be sure. It ,is cenain1y true that the longer a. claim was c:1.tawn out~ the greater
the inducemem.:for victims to settle'for less than they had sought, since legal fees added up a:ud
exasperation took its toll Bllt whetl:mr such settlements were often bolow the ,.real worth.. is
anot'.hcr matter. There is some :material in GCllSChel's. VetdJ:acngung der Juden aus de:r deutschen
W"Lrtsoha:ft~ which throws Iigh.t!OXl how poshvar calcu1atiom of real value were made; there is
moJ:'El in. Goschler's publications. I believe.. Essentially, the problem. is in fixing a base year fen
computing ,,realI:full value" (at, the point offorced sale? at the moment that .restitution is being
sought?) and in asses..<dng market worth at any such moment. .Many settleme;nts reached eVeD. in
the early 50s (that is. xclatively late) 5till granted dispossessed persons COllISidem.ble a.wards io
DeutscbDl&lcs, C'Ylm for property tb.at had been. substantially bombed out since. Many provided
less than a cla:imant felt e::mtitled to. but more than. sIhe was sun:: to get from repossessing BJld
'tI)ing to sell the property in the conditiollS ofthe early 19505 in Germany. In slu>rt, the system
was bound t(l produce dissatisfacticnl,. no matter how set UP. and I find1t impoSSJ."ble to imagine a.
system that would have silenced. all daims of having bee:ll shortchanged by it. One might as well
say this. ~ if reference is to !be made to undeipayme:c.ts in compari.sc=ln to "realJfu1l vaiue,u one
should also note that there is r~n to think ill some C8SC5 that o-vapaym.e:nts were also made.
Finally> I didn"t note any mt:mtiou of ~ cireutn!!1:anoe that uaderpayment also occurred with
.regard ttl tb,e propc:rti.cs that actually fell to the JRSOIICC. Haste to cleurthe books and tD meet
deadlines fat claims certainly led these bodies on occasion to accept less than they might have
gained by protrarited proceedings.
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9.P. 302-as a. matter of curiosity,the reader willwant to know where and when the YIVO
collection was: found.
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10. The inventory provided on pp. 394·98 inolud= Dl,IDleJ(lUEI entries for coins and precious
metals, aU of which had standard, computable markI:::t values at the time. It would help the reader
if these were given :as an indication of the minimlIJIl wotIh of the find in question.
It is in the: nature ofour hmnediate task that the abo-ve c:ommems have been largely critical.
Please convey to your co-workers on this project, however, my admiIation for their work to date.
This project clearly has entailed 10l;lS and hard digging in tbt! appropriate records, and I respect
the pt'oduct that has resulted. I look forward to discussing it and tb.ese comments on my part
when we gather in Washington'next week. Until then.. ~ Jegards.
Yours siDcerely•
...
Peter Hayes
Pr'lfesS'll of History and Gen.u.e.n
Theod.ore Z. Weiss Professor of Holoca.ust Studies
Northwestem University
EvtlDSton, IL 60208
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This incred..:i.bly important chapter lays the 9rO\llldwor~ for
the rest of the report. It is replete with acronymS that
become critica.l to t,he Wlderstanding of the. role of the us
Government. While each
defined, perhaps 1t would be
useful, especiaily for lay readereand young researche~s
new to the topic, to bave an appendix tha~ lists
al.phabet.ioally the aeronyms of government bodiee used,
provides its ~ctual title, and perhaps a third column
describing its dates, predecessor organi~ationf geographic
scope and rep~rting tinea.
is
:2.
This chapter treats c;:urreney values in three different:.
ways: foreign eurrenqy without: dollar equivalents, US
currency at,stated times without 199~ equivalents, and OS
cUrrency at stated t~mes with 1999 equivalents. For many
readers, a laCk
o~
equivalence
ac~oss
the
boa~d
will
translate to ;r$adiJlg ,a nea:r;- meaningless statistic. A
consistent policy s~uld be used throughout; preferably one
that translate8·all Cl.trrendY notations into 1.9.99 us dollar
equival,ant. That: ean be done in text or as an appendix,
al~hough !
think in text is much che preferable. The
currency issues in thia ohapter continue throughout the
report, add1ng:aomev~riations in presentation.
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4.
'&'age15 . Para. :4. .. _loot_'"' ,Tb1.. is, the fir.st time this \rord
is useel.It CQuld use a d.efiniticm. here: doe... it refer only
to victims, to Mything taken by some~e not its owner,
etc.?
Page 37. Pa:t"a 1.
1'_with milita:ry gove:rnmen'C personnel from
Italy..." 1s ambiQu.ous. Does it mean OS gove:r:nment personnel
c~ng
S.
from
X~a~y?
Page 3e. Para 2 ~ 'l'his deseX'i~tion of civil life is
Howeve:r, there is only one :reference (next page)
to di&place~ pe:r;'Sons. presumably because DP's are ~iscu$sed
more fU~lyla.te:t; OD. But :l.te absenCle seems too ga.ping.
excelle~.
6 .PagQ 39. Para 2.1 "_That IUnQUUts to more than the
populaticn-o isconfus1ng.
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Pa,ge 41. Para 2.
Needs editing.
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Page 44. pa%a2. As Dp ' 8 are discussed in the. next
section, apparently because different. agenoies handled the
issues, some very brief reference to that topic being
discussed neitwo~d alleviate the impression of its being
overlooked. Mo~eovet, despite different agenQies having
respons:l.biJ.icy, some of the agencies itl. this $e.cti~ no
doubt undertook some activities related to DP'G, such-as
transportation of peQple and foOd, or i.n other ways.
.
I
I
.
9_
Page 45 . Para; 2.U._ 500 officers_- (last: line) begs the
question of wha~ area they were respollaible,fox.
10 .
P.05/aB
Pa.ge4' • Para: 1. The'. reference to gold or other financial
eeemato get shuntea aside. Perhaps a word again
about is role 'in war-making, then economio rebuilding, as
well as reparations ~nd restitution would be a useful
precursor to the disCUasionooming later in the chapter.
aase~e
11. Page 48.
Pa~a 1. ~_ ~ese attitudes found thei~advoca~e in
.This is the first reference, tthink, of OMGUS.
Towarde the end of the next page it is defin~~ .
OMGUS_1t
.12.
Page 50. P"a 2. "...al'so bore on the dispOSition of victim's
assetlB." (laG1t,line)~ '!'his begs the questions of whether we
·a.re intereseed. in non·viotim assets.·
.
13.
Page 75 ~ Ps..:t"a 2
cnapter k4I.
1.
t'
:
A;seta!~
,
"The :IRO_" De.fined yet?
tbe Un~ted Sta;es
This is iudee4 ~ denS~ chapter, in pa~ bec_use of its
tec:lmica,l natu:.:". NonetheleBs,I find the :rubje<.::t of
assets versue viatim assets to be unresolved. The first
three pages plaoe victim asseta as the target of the
ComMission's research (page eo, end Para 1, page al, end
Para 4, and pa9Ci1 a2 , Para .f.)
I th1Z'lk it. remains ialportant that the resea~ch not show a
.bias l:Qwa:rds vic;tim assets at 'this pcint, as blockins or
vesting assets fQr other purposes (noted, bu~ not
etnpbasized) were, allBo important US gove:r.nment poliC!iee ~
2.
Having said hhat~ .it seems t() me tha.t almoat all tbe
.
content of the repo~e talka about vari~ forma of assets
without much reference 'to that portion that migbt haVe
belonged to victims.
�',..:
[b.C:~
To:
Fr:
Re:
Da:
5'/15\DO
PCHA
Marc Masurovsky
Background and context chapter
February 15, 2000
The most useful part of this chapter addresses the sociological impact of the liberation on the Allied military
government institutions of the post-WWII period. That, more than anything else, informs the reader about the
daunting nature ofthe task that awaited the American military planners when they strove to apply their best-laid
projects for rehabilitation, resettlement, reparations, recovery, restitution, and reindustrialization.
However, the link is tenuous between ~he diplom~ts and the generals, on the one hand, and the evolution of US
restitution policies. In other words, is'it so important to know about the wartime Big Three meetings if there is no
attempt to lie their outcomes with the unfolding nature of the reparations/restitution debate among the Allied
governments? For instance, M,oscow in 1943 signaled the shift on Austria.and laid down the conditions for an
unique treatment of problems withm a liberated A.ustria. yalta and PotsdaIlJ complicated reparations and restitution
issues involving looted assets from Eastern Europe, or assets restitutable to individual owners from those countries.
Moreover, the language used by Allied military planners only took into account Germany and assets in Germany,
therefore anticipating complications with regard~ to the treatment given to assets found)a. elsewhere. outside the
borders of Germany.
,
There should be more focus given to the Allied military campaigns so that the Commissioners understand how the
various experiments in Allied military governmeht evolved from North Africa, through Italy and France into
Germany and Austria. Again, nothing fancy,. siniply a statement of fact and whether or not restitution policies were
even considered.
With regard to the overlapping and sometimes conflicting layers of military government through its successive
j incarnations from AMGOT if SHAEF, to USGGC, via USFET, EUCOM, OMGUS and HICOG, let's not forget
mSACA.ani:LUSEK-krtalliC )\"C9tmore relevance should be given to how the shifts in the organizational layers of
military government ~fected or not the evolutioz:1 of restitution policies. You do this to some extent but it should be
made clear whether, for instance, USFET and EUCOM are even involved in restitution efforts. Perhaps, this sub
section should devote a page to tl!2se:groupings ,within Military goyernrnent which were directly involved in
restitution matters so that the Commissioners know what to expect in subsequent more detailed treatments of the
issues. This reader gets bogged down in the convolutions and reincarnations of military government agencies,
~reby losing focus and not understanding the ultimate point being made.
I was less concerned about redeployment of trodps to the Pacific than about rapid demobilization of our forces from
Europe and the replacement of seasoned veterans with greenhorns who subsequently became the new leaders of the
American restitution efforts. The shift in trained'personnel in 1946 in Germany and Austria was a signal event in the
way that business was conducted in American m,ilitary government. See the F.E.D., the M.F.A& A., G-5, etc., for
. validation of this point. The impact of these personnel changes was also felt in the field intelligence agencies where
more ideologically-trained and less pragmatic fellows replaced the veterans of the war who nurtured an appreciation
for the complexity of events in Europe and were, able to make decisions based on realistic expectations rather than
on preset ideas about how the world should tum-to the right, further to the right or to the left.
,
"
-
,
~
lmRRA
ith r*ea to the discussion about
and the JDC, please do not fail to mention the Inter-Governmental
Committ e on Refugees (IGCR), based in London, for which Abba Schwartz worked. The fusion ofUNRRA and
CR oduced the PClRO which led to the IRa.
pp. 13-16:
In my humble view, the flipside of political isolationism in the United States was continued US
trade and investment in countries under the Fascist and Nazi yoke until such interests were directly
affected by Fascist:and Nazi policies. It is worth mentioning that powerful American figures like
the Dulles family (yes, them again!?!?!?) played their cards on both sides of the political deck,
hedging their bets in the Axis:and the Allied camps. See John Foster Dulles' mainstream
biography. A mere mention ofthis fact lays the groundwork for a subsequent presentation ofthe
hard peace vs. soft,peace debate during WWIL Dulles was soft peace and Morgenthau was hard
peace. State and War supported Dulles while Treasury and some segments of the Army supported
�Morgenthau. See infra (p. 46 comment) for more details on this point.
P.39: I am not clear about the piec\'l of restitution legislation that the JDC contributed to. I know that the JRSO
was instrumental in the formulation ofML 59. Please clarifY this point.
~
.
P.43-45:
).
these pages are disconsonant [new word?] with Helen's text. \
I
P. 46; lines 6-7: " ... there was a fundamental con~radiction between wanting to prevent future industrial productive
capacity in Germany and to promote future peacetime industrial productive capacity." Nice idea. But you fail to
mention the bitter feud between hard peace advocates and soft peace advocates, which conditioned the formulation
of post-war policies in Germany and ~ustria. So, you can either leave this clause in the text without further
explanation; or you can spend some tUne elaborating on how the hard v. soft debate informs the formulation of post
war restitution efforts. If the soft peace advocates support rapid reindustrialization of Germany and Austria, then
any unwarranted diversion of assets from the national economy to former owners is not to be favored. The harder
the peace, the more adamant American officials would be with respect to restitution and the less likely they would
favor making presents to strategically important countries like Austria (The gold set-aside), Italy (gold set-aside),
Hungary, etc.
Pp,48-50:
p.
I agree wit\l Gene. Why rehash Lucille's paper and focus on art and cultural property? ..
52, last two lines:
'. American 'tactical troops battled their way through North Africa, Sicily, Italy,
Franc ,and Belgium, before stumbling into Germany.
The ew sdntence reads: "As American tactical troops battled their way across Europe
t y encouhtered concentration camps and treasure hoards, the tangled legacy ofNational
ocialism. : Death and'loot were the end products .... "
fIP. 53, line 7:
I!::.~y b,eright about the most common destinations for Nazi hoards. But remember
Yu
*
erkers was in Thuringia, south of Berlin, in~ central Germany, NOT southern
G
any. Also, give some credit to British and French tr90ps. They encountered some
e;.-" fro ~l ery nice depositories of wealth in their own paths. But, yes: Patton uncovered the
. ~ ~ ,.. !'.~
~
mother of ~Il mother lodes at Merkers.
.'" \r"";"
~that
Pp.54, lines 1-4: If you are going to c te a lau(ldry list of assets that the US army stumbled on, please make sure
that it re nates, viz., "some loot" does not cut it, especially if you are citing Lynn
rf.~
Nich as. would ski'p it' and focus on the Rothschild collection and omit the reference to
R because you: are inviting too many questions. If you mention the ERR, you
ought to give it its own paragraph. So, omit it.
!
I
c
.
host of assets were captured in the US zone of Austria on westward-bound trains
ing from Hungary, including the so-called Werfen train and the Hungarian National
ank t r a i n . " "
.. D.
y
.""
~~
d~positories ~ost
Pp.54, lines 7-8: "American troops uncovered
dailY." Sounds too good to be true, what's the
2 'e,w.tA.- evidence? Where were these depositories? In Germany? Austria? Italy? France? All of ~ ~
0"
't
l
2. 7 I
the above? What happened to the assets that were uncovered? I would opt for either
'.'\.~ ~
,
~ nuancing this statement, or eliminating it entirely, because it invites too many questions. ~
Pp. 54, lines 13-14:" ~ The US Army secured these assets and transported them to central collecting points
or the upcoming restitution process." You should rather state that it was the US Army's
in preparati
responsibility t
ansport these assets~ Whether it did or not is for us to examine.
pp. 55, second paragraph: You make
~Jl. ~)(I'i r...r
al~t of assertions regarding US defrosting policy of blocked assets.
Your
th~ory regarding Treasury policy relies on what published source? IfI am not
mistaken, Treasury's worries about securities are documented in primary
retords, but not really in secondary sources. If that is the case, we should be
clear whether this background paper is solely based on published sources, or
�Whether you can incorporate some primary source materials.
P. 55, third paragraph:
We should be very careful about making any general statement on the US position
I
regarding the determination of "true ownership" of assets, the US stance on
Aryanized property, and how assets were defrosted in the US. Perhaps, you can
irject nuan~e in the text to warn the reader that there were no easy answers for ,
any of these' problems. After all, when and if the US uncovered aryanizea assets
O:n its terntdry, how did it handle them? Why were some assets defrosted, others
n'ot? Didn't' US officials seek out the true ownership of assets that they had
tagged for restitution? Again, let's not get mired into a sticky debate from
'-Yhich we ,c~ot extricate ourselves, unless we know for sure that our position
is defensible and footnotable with a multiplicity of citations, rather than simply
Alk and Morkovitz. (Who are they?) What about Domke's treatise on Trade
with the Enemy?
�... ,
),
To:
Fr:
Da:
Re:
Background and Context crew
Marc Masurovsky .
February 14; 2000
pp. 1-12
Here are some comments that I hope you will digest collegially. If you disagree with
them, fine ..Ifyou agr~e, even better.
.
Highlights:
Page two: .' Move top paragraph to the beginning of the Chapter since it lays out your
methodology and the questions that you are trying to answer in this chapter.
Page three:
I always thought that it was a Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy, a partnership
, of sorts (according to ~y reading of Mein Kampf).
Pages 5-9:
Rather than refer to this sub-section as Aryanization, why not call it "First
wave of spoliations" or something that is all,embraciilg, of which Aryanizations are a
-.l/'
part. I would stick as much as possible to a chronological unfolding of events"because of /T~
the lockstep logic ofNazi depredations against Jews in Germany. Maybe the following
order is something to think abo'ut:
.
.
:1.
Flight tax/emigration tax l'U/ 1 1'1/ ~I,.
2.
Nuremberg laws 9/s~
c...' \t s"'(.. \~S ''\1)
. 3.
Aryanizations
;4.
AnschlusS~l~\'8 fi\M.ck.
p;roperty census declarations - 'f I~8
:5.
·6.
Kristallnacht 11'38'
7.
Conclusion of sorts (last paragraph on bottom page 7
top/middlepage8).
\\A~~t"1'& ~~.Ib ~~ ...
\~Pages 10-12: Make(sure you cite Richard Breitman's book on Himmler al)d Christopher
~ Browning's Ordinary Men.' These are two seminal works which, although contrasting in
approach, sum up the methodical extermination of civilian populations on the Eastern
,Front. Do steer clear 'from the intentionalists/functionalist debate. Otherwise, you will
.
,
never hear the end of it.
\ Page 13:
Try to:sumup Section A in some fashion so that the
~ection is not so brutal. .
tr~nsition to the US /'~
Good luck, guys. I'll: be at NACP tomorrow if you want to discuss these points.
Marc
�I.
HOW<;AUST VlCTIMS, ASSETS, AND THE UNITED STATES
In sprin~ 1945, World War n neared its end as Allied annies marched into Gennany.
:: . V
From the east and frpm the west the advancing troops made a series of grim discoveries--lhe
)\J...\. (,P'- 'r J "
.
l,l"
out Adolf Hitler's "Final Solution" to rid Europe of Jews and
'0
!".,
iJs \'~;
L\.
YF
dor concentration camps and their subcamps. Soldiers, and officers alike
were ho
. led at what they found-4he emaciated bodies of
camp prisoners iavaged by malnutrition and <lisease, railroad cars full of corpses, incine~ted
,
skeletons, filthy~arracks,i1ice-infested'bedding, and an overwhelming odor. On April 12, 1945,
.
,
Generals Dwigh~ D. Eiserihower, Ornar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton visited Ohrdruf, a sub
; .
,
camp of Buchenwald. Eisenhower turned pale and ~atton became sick to his stomach.
~ter,
Eisenhower ordered every anny unit in the area not on front line duty to visit the camp so that
GIs knew why ~ey were fighting this war. t
Along With these grim discoveries, the American combat troops who drove across
Gennany and A~stria .unC9vered stores of valuables-gold, artwork, financial instruments, as
,
:
~~~~~~~teIIllS="rucIQe.l~r:.me~Nazis in barns,rnines, and other locations.
.
'
ese were the pOssessions stolen from Holocaust victims.. T h .Allied military victory ~
-I-__:::M~1945 provi<!ed the Uillted States with the opportunity to restitute these looted assets. ~~ .
---+----'-~
. ----
.
~~ffi· ~
1 Robert H. A1:jzug. Inside the Vicious Heart: Americans and the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps
(New York: Oxford University.Press. 1985),27.30; Bob Kesting. "Updated Lists ofCertified Liberating Units,"
(Washington. DC: USHMM, Ahg. 30,1994),1-3; Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World At Anns: A Global History of
World War n (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 8}4.
..
WORKING DRAFf - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
.--
1
�~~
L..J-P..A--~-~:---
!~~~
ased primarily on sec9ndary literature, this chapter briefly sketches the events of the
1930s and 19408 to address the following questions. What conditions created the victims, moved
the United States out 10f its dOJPestic preoccupations into the war,and put agencies of the United
States government in,control Of victim assets? What can one say about the formulation of
i
"
,
'
,
policies that shaped agency actions in dealing with those assets? The exploration of these .
questions here provi4es only a broad, general orientation for a later, more detailed discussion of
·the conduct of th~ U~ted Stat~ government as it acquired assets, organized, inventoried and·
.
. i
I
•
stored them, and finally dealt ~ith their restitution and distribution.
A.·
NaziVictimization
Race, Ideology, and Law
1.·
Nap Germany's war ~ainst its intemala'nd external enemies brought immense material
,
devastation and human suffei:ing. A substantial part of the suffering arose from the essence of
the Nazi racialldeo~ogy. The systematic victimizationinherent in Nazism took on an official
dimension when Aqolf llitle~ and the National Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP) took
power in January 1933.
Wi~ weeks
the raciS,t worldview of this once fringe group appeared in
German law, openly expressed in the Civil Service Law of April 7, 1933, that effectively barred
Jews from state emplOYJ!lCllf.@
.. .
,
llitler and the Nazi party exalted a mythical Aryan master race. A few other "inferior"
.
,
,
races could, like the pure Aryan race, create culture, such as the Dutch, Belgians, Norwegians,
and Danes, but "tafe away tpe Nordic Germans," llitler wrote, "and nothing remains but the
WORKING DRAFf - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
2
�dance of apes."l The master race also was entitled to take "living space" away from those they
saw as subhuman, such as the Sl~vic Poles or Russians.
In Hitler's cosmology, the master race was in a battle for world domination with the Jews
who used. every means possible
to subdue Aryan peoples to their rule.
3
The Jewish instruments
included democracy, capitalism, parliamentarianism, liberalism, Christianity, modernism in art,
prostitution, miscegenation and ~Qove all, Bolshevism. Jews were lllortal enemi
jt..
Other racial, political, and social elements also threatened Aryan purity. Gypsies and
racially "less valuable",Germarui, such as the mentally and physically handicapped, were early
targets of Nazi persecution on racial and biological grounds. Adherents to "Jewish" political
theories as well as Christian ~cientists, Freemasons, Mennonites, Jehovah's WitneSses,
homosexuals, an~ others were victimized
as well for engaging iiI. "asocial"activity.s During the
firSt few ~ after Hitler becaJ)le Chancellor, Nazis and their sympatblzers subjected members ~
P.
of all these groups. but particularly Jews, to "spontaneous" riots and senii-organized boycotts.
~
These actions adverselyaffecte4 the German economy because they destroyed property and
2 Gted in Leon Barildet. PolitiCaI Ideologies. 5th ed. (Englewood Cliffs. NJ.: Prentice Hall. 1994), 246.
3 Alan Bullock. Hitler: A Study in Tyianny (New York: Harper, 1964),407.
4 Alan Bullock. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny (New York: Harper. 1964).365.
5 See Michael Berenbaurn, ed., A Mosaic of Victims: Non-Jews Persecuted and Murdered by the Nazis (New
York: New York UniverSity Press, 1990).
(
.
I
WORKING DRAFf - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
3
�aroused animosity abroad. The Party needed a more organized approach if the regime wanted to
profit materially from: th~ persecution of its perceived enemies.'
.'
The Nazis employed ~o--called "Jewish experts" in the Reich Interior Ministry to write
several laws (Law for the Protection ofGerman Blood and Honor, the Reich Flag Law, and the
Reich Citizenship Law) that the Nazi-controlled Reichstag(parliament) enacted on
. September'15, 1935. These l~ws, known collectively as the Nuremberg Laws, codified and
I
'
systematized the official sepafation of Aryan from non-Aryan. They explicitly identified those
against whom ~ffici~ discrimination could and would be directed-the Jews.' An elaborate
scheme in these laws detailed three separate "degrees" of Jewishness.' The laws'thus detennined
the extent to which aJew wopld be socially and professionally ostracized from the Aryan .
community by officially designating one's degree of Jewishness~ Among the legislation's most
,
I
'
important clauses were the prohibition against marIiage and extramarital relations between
Aryans and lews and the restriction of Reich citizenship to persons of ''German or related
blood.'" lewswere henceforth no longer protected as,citizens but were instead treated as
subjects!'
6 Avrahm. Barkm, From B,oycott to Annihilation: The Economic Struggle of German Jews, 1933·1943, trans.
William Templer (Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1989),5&-57.
'
:
'
l.
. i
• :~:
7 Raul Hilberg, The Des~~n of the Buropea.Q Jews (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1985),27·37.
: :.
( 8 Andreas RetIuncler. "Nilinberger Rassegesetze" WId Bntrechtung der laden im Zivilrecht (Frankfurt: P_
. ~~ ~g Verlag, 1995),88·100.
.
. . '
~
.
.
~ .~
:'
•
()\'W'"
I
9 Reichsbiirgeigesetz vom 15. September 1935: Gesetz zum Schulze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen
Ehre vom 15. September 1935, Gesetz zum Schulze der Brbgesundheit des deutschen Volkes vom 18. Oktober 1935
(Munich: C. H. Beck'SChe Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1936),31-37.
c:
10 Lucy S.
1975),67.
Da~dOwicz, 'The War against the Jews, 1933·1945 (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
WORKING DRAFT - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
4
�,
The Nuremberg Laws served as a framework for.further racial persecution of Gypsies
and others defined as '~non-Aryans." The Nazis victimized social and politi~ ''undesirables'' .
through at least 400 discriminat~ry laws, decrees, regulations, and amendments during the next
five years. ll These executive ctecisions, often promulgated in the form of v~guely worded crime
prevention or public h~th me¢;ures, were always punitive, restrictive, and confiscatory in
nature and intended t~ segregate "asocial" elements from the "Aryan" community.12 Once the
Nazi regime had clearly defmed its enemies, those enemies and their assets could be more easily
identified and targeted. ,
. ArYa~tion
, 2.
( ; k w must go---<md his
~ stays~
e Nazi V/j/Jdscher Beobach/er newspaper
blared on April 26, 1938,13 the same day the Nazi regime promulgated a decree requiring Jews to
declare all the domestic and foreign property they held that was worth more than 5,000
Reichsmark.1.c The stated purpose of the decree was to ensure the utilizatiOI! of any assets of
,
'
value in the interest of the Geiman economy, but its secret purpose was ''to achieve a final
1
;~
J
' , :
t~,;: ~h
'; ", i~r.: ~,
I
'
'
11 Anold Paucker et al., Die iuden im natlonalsozialistischen Deutschland (TIIbingen, Ger.: 1. C. B. Mohr,'
~
i
l!
~
~
~
~
I
~
!
I)t
S,
{jJ
105.·
.
.
12 Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang WippeIIDaJ:in, The Racial State: Germany, 1933-1945 (New York:
Canibridge University Press, 1991), 49; Guenter Lewy, "The Travail of the Gypsies" in The National Interest (Fall.
1999), 82.
'
i
13 Cited in Robert Wistrich, Austrians and Jews in tJte 20th Century (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992),
208.
14 Gordon Craig; Germany 1866-1945 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980),635.
WORKING DRAFT - NOT FOR CIRCULATION,
5
�I
exclusion of Jews from the German ecOnom ."15 rom 1933 to 1939 the Nazi regime attempted
.~
to force Jews to ymigrate from Gennany by depriving them of their livelihoods, ~d to transfer
,
.
.
\
their assets-by whatever means-into non-Jewish hands before they left.
The process was gradual, with disbarred lawyers still able to work for a time as legal
. '
I
, counselors and w~th some ~nitial exemptions for Jewish veterans from Wodd War I. But the
I
process was also inexorable, provoking the emigration of from 100,000 to 170,000
o
(b<:twee 1 3
o ••
-~..
~ 193~), half of f'Ilom 'IIi'Y "¥ve had si
:
\~L~e Nurem,
.V
~
•
i
1
0.
\
5
;lAL
I~ ~ ~.,
.ficant assets...·
G_
,,~
/
~f( C
j
~rce!lt II
'J~~)
. ~";nn:l·... ~
who woIkl in the civil setvice and the prof~MostJews (61 percent) f;f4:e~tI.ftdf'l.,-cmptoI!:!,~Inv:Ylml1eftt. 0
rg Laws JWplied to'only a small segment of Germany's Jews, the 12
in COIllDlOlCe and transport.p In 1933 as manY as 100.000 Jewish enlelplises of all
noo8 ~
rt,
have been active. but in November 1938 when the Nazi government prohibited Jews from
U
'
owning retail busfu.esses, o~y about 40.000 enterprises remained:8 After 1933, many pressures
Ol./"
~pay business ~ebts to Jews, ~fficial h~sment, the denial of credit by banks, the intimidating of
r-' :J business owners when they were taken int
protective custody," and the ownelrS' desire to raise
IS Avraham Barkai, From Boycott to Annihilatio~. The Economic Struggle of German Jews, 1933-1943
.H.: University Press of New Bnglaqd, 1989), 118.,
'
~
,
'16
.
len Junz, ~ow the Economics of the Holocaust Add" (Appendix S), in Report of the Independent
ofEminenfpersons (Volker Committee, 1999),A-171. '
.
.
~elen Ju~~ow the ~nOmiCS of ~e HoloCaust ~dd" (Appendix S), in Report of the Independent
~ of EminentPersons <Volker Comnuttee, 1999), A-I64.
,
'.
18 Anold Paucker et aI., Die Juden im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland (Tiibingen, Ger.: J. C. B. Mohr,
1986),156; Avraham Barkai, Frorrt Boycott to Annihilation. The Economic Struggle of German Jews, 1933-1943
(Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1989), 111.
WORKING DRAFr - NOT FOR ClRCULATION
! ,
I
6
�~l ~,,;~t
the necessarycash to emigrate." As many
l
t
f
.f~cP"~rv--~· .
..,
.
.
a quarter of Jew' sh bUSineSS~eadY have
.
closed or been sold by 1935, particplarly in the more rural areas and small towns.20 While the
details of many of these transactiorts are no. longer available, it is clear that Aryanization fIrst
.
I
targeted shopkeepers, while the lar~er Jewish enterprises-textile fInns,department stores,
banks heavily involved in export fInancing-were among the last to be sold or transformed into
l ~ U ~ .1 !,
~ .
~
limited partnerships or other fonns of enterprise."
~!X~Q.'·_:fl S
.'
A decree oV~;ril:1938 ~dated registration of Iewish property. In November an
.
i
assessment identifIed the value of ~l Jewish assets in the Reich, including Austria, as 8.53
billion Reichsmark, of wl;tich RM 1.4 billion were debts and other liabilities. Of the remaining
RM 7.12 billion, about one-sixth ('17.2 percent) was business capital, more than one-third (35.8
percent) was real estate, and close to two-thirds (61.5 percent) were in fmancial assetsincluding inflated pensions, salaries, insurance, bank notes, securities, and other "vulnerable
*-_
'
assets •.• readily seizable.:."22
:
~
'---,-'
~ ( / i .~ 7 7/
~P'(4.
Cl\-
I
.
v
I
~!
I
:
'.
,
'
I
After 1938 e veneer of l~ga1ity that had characterized at least some Aryanizations
.
.disap
.
I
, and the p~s of ~ferring property and enterprises into non-Jewish hands
became indistinguishable from outright theft,and expropriation, with old Nazi Party members
,
i
19 Karl Schleunes, The Twisted R98d to Auschwitz. Nazi Policy Toward German Jews 1933-1939 (Urbana:
University oflllinois Press, 1990), 143..
20 Avraham Barkai, Prom Boycott to AnDihilation.. The Economic Struggle of German Jews. 1933-1943
(Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1989),70.
.
21 Avraham Barkai, Prom Boycott to Annihilation. The Economic Struggle of German Jews, 1933-1943
(Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1989), 72-77.
'
. WOR.IqNG DRAFT - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
7
(.
j
�often the beneficiaries. NO)vhere' was this more blatant than in
"~
.! .
(XJS8s
Vienna, home to
90 percent of Austria's Je~s, where by the end of 1938, 3,500 party members had become
~. "commissioners" bver seiz&:i Jewish properties.ll By J)lid-1939 over 18,000 Austrian Jewish
:
1
,
"
~
~
~
.
paintings, simply stolen.24 Mer May 1940 in occupied France, Holland, and Belgium, special
~"
Ij
.
I
teams involved in,
Jews
who~ they had deported to concentration camps. By the end of July 1944E~t
iV'L.
~~proudIy reported that over 69,500 "CO~lete Jewish apartments" (worth RM 15 million) 1"rJ:;
r/ .
r
~
fled and sent theS¢ assets to Gerinany. By 1942 Nazi officials had confiscated property from
L
.
~==~~~~
S<H:aI'6,:""kedUP the libraries and art objects ofJews w
had been packed up and transported, in 674 trains full of containers sometimes marked "Jewish
JlJ,t
goods," from the'occupie<i tenitories to the Reich. Officials in Cologne, DOsseldorf, Mainz,
.~.l"1)--1.
Y,\
(),I-A
Berlin, Hamburg, and other cities poblicly auctioned off furniture and all usable goods to repl"""
:
what Germans had lost in Allied bombing raids.' This special operation M-Aktion thus netted
RM 11.7 million in cuire~cy and other securities from Jewish residences.2S
~~,
Beginning in 1931, emigres had to pay a Reich Fli;ht Tax, which the Nazis later
,
expanded to ex~ct even more
'. \:-0
f:.'~
assets from Jews. By 1934 the regime levied a Capital Flight Tax
.
~~- ~--'--LAf-A-'P--';--1---r'1"""r"T-'---~---'--ce:~--fl-~--flr,--A-~~,tt-~
~"~("-\:M~:
•
~ j) ~rt'~ ,22 Helen JunZ, "How the Economics of the Holocaust Add". (Appendix S), in Report of the Independent
: j'
,
{I~
\J ~ eN
,
t
Committee of Eminent Perso~ (Volker Committee. 1999). A-166; Avraham Barkai, From Boycott to Annihilation. \(t)'
The Economic Struggle of German Jews, 1933-1943 (Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1989). 113. .e
~.......~i!.ti'",",G~e~y
Grea
1866-1945 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980),636.
Richard Chesno Pkk of Thieves. How Hitler and Europe Plundered the Jews and Committed the
' story (New York: Doubleday, 1999), 27, 31; Lynn Nicholas, The Rape of Europa. The Fate of
__E_ur'l.~:IQl~jroU-:;~QY::S~?
~(
.
:
...
WORKING DRAFf - NOT FOR CIRCULATION .
.
J
8
�\
on'any transfers of more than; RM 50,000, and by'1936 the government further restricted the free
,
'
,
I,
export of securities.:, After 1937 exchange control violations carried the death penalty. When the
war broke out the regime profribited all capital transfers.2<i The Nazis introduced numerous other
<
'deviceS to extract assets froIl1 Jews who fled G~rmany in the 1930s, including blocking accounts,
, manipulating the exchange ~tes, confiscating insurance monies, forcing them to pay
.
,
'
"atonement" fmes, taxing them on their "right" to sell their own property, and making them pay .
i
I
'
,
into a fund to suppOrt the emigration of poor Jews. Even a wealthy banker such as MaxWarburg
was left with only 2 to 3 pe~nt of his wealth when he fled.27
3.
Exterimlnation Policies
,
,
i.
,~~tioo., As ~e Reich expanded into Austria (1938 •
,
I
I
.
'(1940). and other nations and territories, it·acquired additional resources and laborers but also
more ~'undesirabl~." The ~azi g9vemment quickly introduced its discriminatory laws and
regulations
into.
'b:O~teIlitOries to exciude Iews and other "asocials" from
Qerman-eoo,
,
I
~
I
economic and public lUi an~ to encourage them to emigrate while leaving their wealth·behind.
2S See Tuviah ~edmann. Das VennOgen der ermordeten luden Europas.(Haifa: Institute of Documentation,
1997); Wolfg~g Dressen, Betrifrt: "Aktion 3" - Deutsche verwerten jiidische Nachbarn (Berlin: Aufbau-Verlag,
1998).45-61.
26lunz, "How the Econoriilcs,"A-201; Barkai. From Boycott, 100.
27 K?pper. Zwischen Marictwirtschaft, 266-67.
WORK1NG DRAFT - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
9
�~'
.
But by autumn 1941, neitiler Jews in Gennan-occupied Europe nor Jews in Gennany·could
emigrate.28
to concentrate and ghettoize Jews in closed
The Nazi government beg
,
.
districts in Polish,Cities. By September 1941 Adolf Eichmann haq orgOULlLJ'.",..
.
deportation, sending 20,000 Rhineland Jews and 5,000 Gypsies to the Lodz ghetto in Poland.19
.
,
Polish ghettoization was largely complete three months later.30 More ominously, in November
t-J • .
1941 the
.' .
~e began building and operating extermination camps at Be~ and Cheltnno, soon
b~camps
~ J r:J~ u
. to be followed
at Sobibor, TrebJinka and Majdanek." I
.
cvt
.
\
, . ' ~//' M...J~ /
.
The invasion o~ t.heemly sammer~ 1941 marked the beginning of
' .
.,
.
:,~,~~
~.~
. ..
\-,~
/J~
extermination. ~ mobile killing units (Einsatzgruppen) followed advancing German troops.
Their job was to kill lewikh inhabitants on the spot, at a rate of 100,000 a month by the end of
1941,t'b m¢tbods 8Pl'lied in Gennany since 1939 in killing~~c:apryg and
other
undesirab;J The "COmmissar Otder'~ Ge~ Army units to execute
\
COIDplunist Party functionaries found among captured· Russians. According to a German Anny
W~
28
Uw~A~ Judenpolitik im Dritten Reicl~ (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1972), 310. Of-e.vA'/~
~ndt,
A~
29 Hannah
Eicqrnann in Jerusalem '(New York: Penguin, 1982), 93-95;
Barkai, From
Boycott to Annihilation. The Economic Struggle of German Jews, 1933-1943 (Ha8over, N.H.: University Press of
New England, 1989), 175.
,
30 Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1986),79-84.
'31 Raul Hilberg, ~ Qestruction of the European Jews (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1986),228.,30; Gudrun
Schwartz, Die na,tionalsozialistiscben Lager (Frankfurt: Campus, 1990),210-16.
32 Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1986), 125.
33 Gudrun Schwartz, Die nationalsozialistiscben Lager (FtanIcrurt: Campus, 1990),53-55; Hannah Arendt,
Eichmann in J~salem(New York: Penguin, 1982), 107. .
'
.111:
Gl:
I~;\ .
WORKING DRAFf - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
10
�Headquarters directive of June~, 1941, entitled "Guidelines for the Conduct ofTr~ps in
Russia," the struggle "demaqds ruthless and energetic' measures against ,Bolshevik agitators,
guerrillas, saboteurs, Jews, and the complete eliniination of every active or passive resistance."34
In practice. uris
me;mt mass tlxecutions of~soners of war and ci~i1ians, in violation of.
.
international agreements.
,
11.-
"
tt-
J')-"' ....
IJ
~
b-uU:~/U\'A~",
The large-~e murder of Jews and ~~. front began atJeast six months prior
if- X·&..., JJtlAJ~ ~ ~
:
to l:!Rn3t:y 1942 WheD..Nazi leaders met at the Wannsee Conference to coordinate a "Final'
,
~
'..
() ,,:..'I't'uA,
~
WIl/
~~
evacuation to the
rom GZlife through deportation or
Eas)
. eaders
'~ , - planned to put able-bodied jews to work building roads, "in the course of which doubtless many
.:!
fW;~ill be eliminated by naturil CllUses;' ~ that survived, who woold ''undoobtedly
-t:se,
f\AJLr
: !
" I
; I
.[AA
I
.~u
consist ,of the most resistant portion," would have to be "treated accordingly" since they "would,
W~
if released, act as it. ~ of ~ ~ew Jewish revival "
~~:Jn~.wJ..~~: ~
;
;
OA J0I.
''Treated 8.f.XX>rdingly' ,
or execution'by firing squad or death by
gassing. The killing camps at Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Majdanek used gassing
techniques that N!u:i officials had le8.rned from the mobile killing commandos. The last of these
:';-',',!!
;
,',
(
'i'
,!
;',
,i
i
.':
"
34 Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Iews (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1986),99; Falk Pingel,
Hliftlinge unler SS-Herrschaft <Hamburg: Hoffman und Cainpe, 1978), 119-22; Lucy Davidowicz, The War Against,
the Iews 1933-1945 (New York: Bantam, 1986), 123-25.
35 Lucy Davidowicz, The'War Against the Iews 1933-1945 (New York: Bantam, 1986),106.
- .
,
WORKlNG DRA.Ff- NOT FOR CIRCUuTION
:
~I)
~
1~leStlru ~i:on"Of-the-;Je,~!rft~in1~one~!ilNazi officials at the Wannsee Conference had
~e,~ expulsion of Jews
(j
11
�r.'
'II
.
~we:cR~?
JosOO in November 1943 after an estimated 1.7 to 1.9 million victims of genocide
death camps
died in these five:locations. 36
I
.
.
Only two assets remained to those victims sent to the camps: what they carried with them
,
\
.
'
and their labor pOwer. Odllo Globocnik, an SS-officer in charge of killing centers around
~
.
).
...
.
, Lublin ~ms=to have beeri p&tietllariy eagef;te-s~ure from the victims whatever wealth he
, . '-!iV
could for use by ~e ReiCh." On February 3, 1943, he SU~mi~ a list. of expropriated "Jewish
~ ~~ fullowing valuables
..
.
~
(in ReichsIruni<:)p.... euJ!!!llll'lUiOiH goes
c~cies;
Bills in 29
largest single currency U. S. dollarsRM 1,452,904.65
Coin in 27 currencies; largest single currency U. S. dollars
843,802.75
Gold bars, 1,775 kilos ~t RM 2,784"per kilo·
4,942,870.00
385,573.00
Silver bars, 9,639 kilos at RM 40 per kilo
Platinum, 5 kilos at RM 5,000 per kilo
Other items, totaled and included:
• Gold rings :with dimP-onds (11,675)
• Pearls (49 kilos)
• Gold brooches (1,974)
• Women's goldwris(watches (7,313)
• Men's gold pocket watches (2,874)
Textiles and fabrics (rags, bedding, clothing)
~~
~
~ million Reichsmark.
,iif9"v-
RM 11,675,000.00
4,000,000.00
3,948,000.00
, 1,828.250.00
1,427,000.00
13,294,400.00
I
,
C[yJt/,Hl!1
SS Economic ~dministration offices in Krakow and Berlin, the Reich acquired items worth 100
?VA, ..
1
25,500.00
26,089,800.00
In addition to the RM 15.9 million cash on hand, and the RM 37 million delivered to the
c.x ~/
I· , ,
on...
The "Rdnhardt Action" in Lublin that covered April 1942 to December is,
...
.
36 Raul Hilberg. The Dest,ruction of the European Jews (New York: Holmes & Meier. 1986),239; Gudrun
Schwartz, Die nationalsozi.alistiSchen Lager (Frankfurt: Campus, 1990).212-16.
I
WORKING DRAFf - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
12
�1943 (thus likely i~cluding 'the amounts just noted), produced a more inclusive list of items and a
I
'sum of 178 million Reichsmark.37
Labor power constituted th~ other remaining asset that victims possessed. A
I
temporary "reprie~e" await~ those judged strong enough to work. Stil~, according to a directive
ofApril 30, 1942,
~taIi6iilof prisoners in concentration camps ~
~\tSl~
"V-v
r
€r
without regard to ijie and health because the Reich needed~ September 1942
both Heinrich Himmler and: Joseph Goebbels had another idea, according to Justice Minister
Otto Thierack, thai' "extermin.ation through work would be the best" for both Jews and Gypsies.38
In short, those who were spared from gasSing were to be worked to death.
B.
United Stales Engagement
,
'
1.
.
Over.collliDg Isolationism
'
I
'
conducted found t1lat 60 percent of the reSponden
<
h.
that "if there is another general war in'
~~ '<.j(?
Europe, the U. s. can stay ouL"" President oosevelt thus reflected national sentiment when in .
i\rJ}W' a speech he gave i1' August 1936 he declared, «We shun political commitments which might
37 Tuviah Friedmann, Das Vennogen der ermodeten Juden Bumpas (Haifa: Institute of Documentation in
Israel, 1997), 16~21. "
I
'
38 Bernd Klewitr Die Ar~itssldaven der Dynamit Nobel (Scbalksmiihle, Germany: Verlag Engelbrecht,
1986),432-34.
•
' .
'
39 H. Schuyler F,oster, Activism Replaces Isolationism: U. S. Public Attitudes 1940-1975 (Washington, D.C.:
. Foxhall Press, 1983). 19.
.
WORKING DRAFT - NOT FOR CIRCULATION
,
13
�Page 1 of3
From:
Ken Klothen <kklothen@pCHAGOV>
To:
Gene Sofer <gsofer@pdHAGOV>; Robert Grathwol (E-mail)
<Rpgdmm@bellatlantic.riet>
I
Date:
Tuesday, February ;15, 2000 5:23 PM
Subject: FW: Context Paper'
'
fyi
KLK
-----Original Message----- .
,
From: Jonathan Petropoulos [mailto:Jonathan Petropoulos@MCKENNAEDU]
Sent: Tuesday, February 15; 2000 5:12 PM
To: Ken Klothen
!
Subject: Re: 90ntext Paper
Dear Ken,
I<am sending along my cqmment~ on the background and context paper.
trust
:
that you will pass them along to Bob G. and others. I found the paper
to be
very impressive: useful, readable~-all in all, an important building
block.
;,
<
It goes further than I hadexpecte(J, especially Section II covering U.S.
Agencies and Control of Victim Assets. As you know, there we now have
considerable overlap between thi,~ paper, Lucille's customs report, arid
Erin's "Control of Art and: Cultural Property." But I think this is ok.
We'll synthesize them into a cohesive whole. it was actually very
useful to
see what Bob G. and colleagues'were able to come up with based largely
on
'
~econdary sources (Erin's and Lucille's pieces rely more on archival
docs.).
< , '
< '
'
In paging through the report, theifollowing thoughts have come up:
<
){ 3) We should include Sinti ahd Roma (Gypsies) on this list of Nazi
.
I' enemies.
.:
<
, \ \b
< <
Are we going to use Reichsfnark in the singular thoughout the
• 1-1
repor(1)
. :
,,~./
. <
'(\
OO.d Q. also, they mig~t want to cite Guenter Lewy's new book, _T h e / ~. ,
~ e?
~
aZl'
Ut\S
~
ersecution of the Gypsies_ (1\I~w York: Oxford U. P. 2000). ~'v S-"t.
Ea~Jsl am not entirely comfortab:le with the phrasing, "The NU,fellloelQ ' "
applied to only a small segmenfof Germany's Jews." 'I see the point
about
\'
Jews in the civil service and the' professions, but there were articles
2/15/00
/p
\),
.,., (
~
'
�,
,.
.
Page 2 of3
in
the laws that applied to all Jews. Just about that paragraph, where
emigration and assets are disclJss~d, it might be useful to mention the
/ Haavara agreements that permitte<;f German Jews to take assets to
Palestine.
p. 7) One great source ,for pll the Nazi decrees involving the removal of
,~~/
'
Jews from the economy is :Diemut fy1ajer, _Recht, Verwaltung und Justiz im
.'
NaE,9nalsoz:ialismus.,,_ (Cologne: Bune Verlag, 1984). .
p:>l1.) Ithink we should get ,n the h~bit of using Netherlands instead of ~
1)" tl.t:~,s 1.) t '"
,
\\
Holland (as all'know, but one province). Also on p. 8, the M-Aktion is ----~~r.J
H (_'
short for Moebel-Aktion (or furnitur~); It isn't organized u n t i l n o ' t - J l f " .. 1\VS;t.r';t..
January
;
. 1942. What they are talking about: is the ERR (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter
Rosenberg), which is operational qy June 1940 (and charged with seizing
artworks in September 1940.' I thi~k it's very problematic to cite the
Chesnoff book: he's a journalist wllo doesnt' know a lot about the
subject
'
(and the book is riddled with error&). I'm not sure what the etiquette
is,
but Helen's work is cited througho~t. The ERR and M-Aktion are covered
in
.
:
considerable detail in my book _A~ as Politics in the,Third Reich_. Do
*'
l
'
{;b
what you want here, but I'd stay clear of the Chesnoff book. One .
interesting source is.Joelg 'dVolleftJ3erg, liThe Apartment Keys are tcY~e
Relinquished to the House Manag:er: The Cannibalization of Jewish
~
: ~N. .J •
+~
Estates,"
in Jeerg WellEm9crg, ed., _The Germ
Public and the Persecution of U'
Jews; 1933-1945 (Atlant~c Highl~nd : Humanities Press International,
'No V.-.L;P~·c.;P"JU1 p~ 0 ....... ~.'
&2.-+ ~$,~!2A.cI. P.r\I,,'c..
1996),
_...-;>~'..;:;1~18~-1...... 0.
.
,
. 10) I wonder about the ,Phrase 'Polish ghettoization was largely
omplete
"
,
: ......,.=.:
ree months later" [Dece'mber 19~ 1]. Perhaps we could say that the
,
'. '
hettos
as been established by that point. Ghettoization to n:Je includes the
~
rocess of transporting people.... .
.
. 11) There are no minutes for th'e Wannsee Conference; just a prolocol--"':-;"""
hich is less precise). Il1teresting that Auschwitz is excluded from
'
t
'j),
,
is of camps. Yes, it gets:going
~~~~.
I~ter,
7 '
but by mid-1942, it's a killing
A~erican
cra~
p.
think we should use the
spelling for
throughout.
\ p. 14) Some bibliography to co'nsider: David Wyman, _The Abandonment of
.~ the
!
'v)'
Jews_ (New York: Pantheon, 1984); Henry Feingold,'_Bearing Witness: How
America and Its Jews Responded to the HolocausC (Syracuse: Syracuse
U.P.
, , '
1995); and Deborah Lipstadt, _B~yond Belief: The American Press and the
Coming of the Holocaust, 1933-1945_(1986). I guess that Richard
Breitman
' :\
~~ also published on this topic tbo.
.
~6) I would rephrase "President Roosevelt ,had formally recognized ..."
,
, 2/15/00
'
.
.
.. I
~Jc.
�I
.,
J
Page 3 of3
~ggreSsion against Finland $nd the agreement with Hitler to
violently in 1939." ;
,
-44~;~:;::=e~:~:~:~;=t~"
/ '
/
''>
45) fix sentence "to prevent futuFe-tndustrial war prohUctive~
't "?
C8pBel~.~ .
,47j Extra period bell-veen Genel al Play.
50) probl8ffiatio usee'twice iii sent~nce prior to Section 2.
'
53) "Third Army found one,of the largest hoards ...." As we have
learned,
'
the U.S. Army had advanced intelligence about the mine and went out to
secure it (in fact, they violated the ?onal agreements with the Soviets
~
~.~;ured thes!l-l/aluab~ore lbtt.B.ed Army coLJ!2.get I~e). I would
&P ........ wi
1
.5
to double-check this version, but I recall it from several sources.
) Sh<?uld .be Ein.satzstab,' Reichsl~iter Rosenberg. A Istr,', /'
unsthlstonsches
';
:
' v
useum is ususally two words. ' "
.
~
Well, that's it for now. Clearly, these are minor things. It's a very
'
precise and well-crafted P?per. I commend all involved.
In terms of Helen'S paper--well, it's at home right now. One thing I
' : , ' ,
recall
was that the defintion of aVictim tliat she proposed caused me some
concern.
I think this is something that we'll all need to discuss. I liked her
paper, although I'd like to'see it cqmbined with elements' of the
Ellen/Marc
,
version that go through the agreements/laws/directives more
systematically.
~
"
More soon.
Jonathan
Jonathan Petropoulos
Associate Professor of Hiptory
Claremont McKerma College
850 Columbia Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711, ,
jonathan_petropoulos@mckenna!edu
2/15/00
�March 1, 2000
To: Gene Sofer
From: H.B. Junz
Re: Background paper
Please find below some quick impr¢ssions of the paper. After we have our meeting, if wanted, I
will be happy to provide more deta.led commentary.
,
.
,
First, generally the paper is trying, ~nnecessarily, to do too much: we do not really need a run
down on isolationism, US':'Soviet relations, Ribbentrop Pact, etc. If the judgement, however, is
that we do, it must be less ,sweeping and impressionistic.
Second, the sections on what led to:and the extent of the spoliation and dispossession do need
,
deepening and thorough fact checki,ng. For example, the dating of first deportation is in error, it
seems mighty strange that Auschwi~z is not mentioned in the listing of extermination camps
though it really is not necessary to list them at all. A better background factor would have been
the death toll by country, for example. On the spoliation side, there is confusion about the
content of the Nuremberg laws, there needs to be a strengthening of some of the explanatory
paras.' on the dispossession mechanisms, there is no word regarding the spoliation and plunder in
the occupied countries and territories. After all, it is the spoliation and its effects that are the
raison d'etre of the Commission.
'
,
On the whole, the paper is 'rather di~jointed, it spends too much space on some of the political
background without giving needed oepth and rather short changes the spoliation background and
the mechanisms the were the asset control channels during and after the war as well as those that
became the restitution channels. Thus, the role of customs for example was not confined to art/
items. There is a misunderstanding regarding the content of JC1067, which may be due to
dealing with it in a couple of impressionistic sentences. One also would get the impression that
the US AI:1!l...Y. was the only actor on :the scene.
Also, more specifically, th~re is many a slip of the pen - or mouse - ranging from calling the
Foreign Exchange Depository thtzE~<;i~raJJ:~~~!!.ange Depository, to confusing the Census of
", Ffreig!!_~_sset~with the reporting of enemy.assels,1Q-mfxlrl!rpPS and refugees, after having
quite properly given the definitions :that separate them,
--..
I
Of course, all these can be ifixed in the end, but I thought that until we know how you want to go
on this, it would be not terribly useful to spend the' time to give chapter and verse on each and
every one of them..
�Le
uenter. The Nazi Persycution o/the Gypsies. New York: Oxford University
5s,2000. (for pag~ 3)
Majer, Diemut. Recht, Verwaltung und Justiz im Nationalsozialismus .... Cologne: Bune
Verlag, 1984.
'
removal of Jews from:German economy (for page 7)
~opoulos, Jonathan. Art as Politics in the Third Reich .
.Jl'l\R and M-Aktion i ·
.
(author). "The Apartrrtent Key~ are to be Relinquished to the House Manager: The
Cannibalization of Jewish Estates." In Jorg Wollenberg, ed., The German Public and the
Persecution o/the Jews, 1933-1945: No One Participated, No One Knew, ed. and trans.
by Rado Pribic. Atlan~ic HighUmds, N.J.: Humanities Press International, 1996.
ERR and M-Aktion '
ollowing 3 are general bib suggestions: .
Wyman, David. The Abandonment o/the Jews. New York: Pantheon, 1984.
1.
Feingold, Henry. Bea~ing Wit~ess: How America and its Jews Responded to the
Holocaust. Syracuse: Syracuse: University Press, 1995.
Lipstadt, Deborah. Beyond Bel~ef The American Press and the Coming 0/ the Holocaust,
1933-1945. (pub), 1986. Also :Richard Breitman on this topic.
e . ermination of civilians 0~1 eastern front:
~
~
Ri ard Breitman's book on Hiipmler.
B0
. ng, Christopher. Ordinary Men.
etropoulos suggestions:
iIi
agraph on emigr~tion and:assets, discuss Haavara agreements that permitted
erm Jews to take assets to Balestine
'
On the Agr~ement i* general, see: Werner Feilchenfeld, et aI., Haavara
s r nach Pal_stin~ (T_bingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1972).; David Yisraeli, liThe Third
R 'c and the Transfer Agreement," Journal of Contemporary History (London), No.2,
19 ,pp. 129-148.; "Haavara," :Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971), vol. 7, pp. 1012-1013.; F.
Nic sia, The Third Reich and tne Palestine Question (Austin: 1985), pp. 44-49.; Raul
Hi
g, The Destructipn of the European Jews (New York: Holmes and Meier, 1985),
p . 1 -141.; The Transfer Agr~ement, by ~dwin RI'4, is detailed and usefuL However,
i cont ins numerous inaccuracies and wildly erroneous conclusions. See, for example,
e revi w by Richard S. Levy in Commentary, Sept. 1984, pp. 68-71.
is from a re;isio~ist website:~
l
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States, formed in 1998, was charged with investigating what happened to the assets of victims of the Holocaust that ended up in the possession of the United States Federal government. The final report of the Commission, <a href="http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/pcha/PlunderRestitution.html/html/Home_Contents.html"> “Plunder and Restitution: Findings and Recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States and Staff Report"</a> was submitted to President Clinton in December 2000.</p>
<p>Chairman - Edgar Bronfman<br /> Executive Director - Kenneth Klothen</p>
<p>The collection consists of 19 series. The first fifteen series of the collection are composed mostly of photocopied federal records. These records were reproduced at the National Archives and Records Administration by commission members for their research. The records relate to Holocaust assets created between the mid 1930’s and early 1950’s by a variety of U. S. Government agencies and foreign sources.</p>
<p>Subseries:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+and+Cultural+Property+">Art and Cultural Property</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Gold+">Gold</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Gold+Team+Review+Form+Binders+">Gold Team Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+and+Cultural+Property+and+%E2%80%9COthers%E2%80%9D+Review+Form+Binders">Art and Cultural Property and “Others” Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Non-Gold+Financial+Assets+Review+Form+Binders">Non-Gold Financial Assets Review Form Binders</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=History+Associates+Binder+">History Associates Binder</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Non-Gold+Financial+Assets+Review+Form+Binders+%282%29">Non-Gold Financial Assets Review Form Binders (2)</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Financial+Assets+Documents">Financial Assets Documents</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=RG+84%2C+Foreign+Service+Posts+of+the+State+Department%E2%80%94Turkey">RG 84, Foreign Service Posts of the State Department—Turkey</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Financial+Assets+Documents">Financial Assets Documents</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=%5BJewish+Restitution+Successor+Organization+%28JRSO%29%2C+Oral+Histories%5D&range=&collection=20&type=&user=&tags=&public=&featured=&exhibit=&submit_search=Search+for+items">[Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO), Oral Histories]</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=PCHA+Secondary+Sources">PCHA Secondary Sources</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Researcher+Notes">Researcher Notes</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Unnumbered+Documents+from+Archives+II+and+Various+Notes">Unnumbered Documents from Archives II and Various Notes</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=RG+260%2C+Finance+Inventory+Forms">RG 260, Finance Inventory Forms</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Reparations">Reparations</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Chase+National+Bank">Chase National Bank</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Administrative+Files">Administrative Files</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Art+%26+Cultural+Property+Theft">Art & Cultural Property Theft</a></p>
<p>Topics covered by these records include the recovery of confiscated art and cultural property; the reparation of gold and other financial assets; and the investigation of events surrounding capture of the Hungarian Gold Train at the close of World War II. These files contain memoranda, correspondence, inventories, reports, and secondary source material related to the final disposition of art and cultural property, gold, and other financial assets confiscated during the Holocaust.</p>
<p>For more information concerning this collection consult the<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/35992"> finding aid</a>.</p>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/35992" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1040718" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
2954 folders
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
PCHA and Outside Comments on Chapter 2 [2]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States
Art & Cultural Property Theft
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 169
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/Holocaust-Assets.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/description/6997222" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
6/24/2013
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
6997222-pcha-outside-comments-on-chapter-2-2
6997222