Holocaust Justice: The Battle for Restitution in America's Courts - Softcover

Bazyler, Michael J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814799043 ISBN 13: 9780814799048

Publisher: NYU Press, 2005

Synopsis

The Holocaust was not only the greatest murder in history; it was also the greatest theft. Historians estimate that the Nazis stole roughly $230 billion to $320 billion in assets (figured in today’s dollars), from the Jews of Europe. Since the revelations concerning the wartime activities of the Swiss banks first broke in the late 1990s, an ever-widening circle of complicity and wrongdoing against Jews and other victims has emerged in the course of lawsuits waged by American lawyers. These suits involved German corporations, French and Austrian banks, European insurance companies, and double thefts of art―first by the Nazis, and then by museums and private collectors refusing to give them up. All of these injustices have come to light thanks to the American legal system.

Holocaust Justice is the first book to tell the complete story of the legal campaign, conducted mainly on American soil, to address these injustices. Michael Bazyler, a legal scholar specializing in human rights and international law, takes an in-depth look at the series of lawsuits that gave rise to a coherent campaign to right historical wrongs. Diplomacy, individual pleas for justice by Holocaust survivors and various Jewish organizations for the last fifty years, and even suits in foreign courts, had not worked. It was only with the intervention of the American courts that elderly Holocaust survivors and millions of other wartime victims throughout the world were awarded compensation, and equally important, acknowledgment of the crimes committed against them.

The unique features of the American system of justice―which allowed it to handle claims that originated over fifty years ago and in another part of the world―made it the only forum in the world where Holocaust claims could be heard. Without the lawsuits brought by American lawyers, Bazyler asserts, the claims of the elderly survivors and their heirs would continue to be ignored.

For the first time in history, European and even American corporations are now being forced to pay restitution for war crimes totaling billions of dollars to Holocaust survivors and other victims. Bazyler deftly tells the unfolding stories: the Swiss banks’ attempt to hide dormant bank accounts belonging to Holocaust survivors or heirs of those who perished in the war; German private companies that used slave laborers during World War II―including American subsidiaries in Germany; Italian, Swiss and German insurance companies that refused to pay on prewar policies; and the legal wrangle going on today in American courts over art looted by the Nazis in wartime Europe. He describes both the human and legal dramas involved in the struggle for restitution, bringing the often-forgotten voices of Holocaust survivors to the forefront. He also addresses the controversial legal and moral issues over Holocaust restitution and the ethical debates over the distribution of funds.

With an eye to the future, Bazyler discusses the enduring legacy of Holocaust restitution litigation, which is already being used as a model for obtaining justice for historical wrongs on both the domestic and international stage.

About this title

Review

“A masterly study of the search for justice against long odds. Its analysis is compelling, its importance immense. It is also a fascinating read.”
-Daniel Jonah Goldhagen,author of Hitler’s Willing Executioners and A Moral Reckoning

“An incisive work of legal history and an invaluable guide to the litigation involving Holocaust-era assets. Bazyler offers an elegant and up-to-date study that will prove indispensable for those interested in restitution law, the Holocaust, and the issue of historical injustice.“
-Jonathan Petropoulos,former Research Director, Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States.

“Michael Bazyler brings the passion of a child of Holocaust survivors and the tenacious investigative skills of a lawyer in addressing the complexities of Holocaust restitution. The result is courageous, provocative, and sobering.”
-Rabbi Abraham Cooper,Simon Wiesenthal Center

“This book should be read by everyone interested in how some measure of justice was obtained for victims of the Holocaust and about how issues of historical injustice should be addressed by the international community.”
-Paul Hoffman,Chair, Amnesty International

“An indispensable guide to the complex and controversial struggle for justice in the aftermath of the Holocaust.”
-Michael Berenbaum,The University of Judaism

Synopsis

The Holocaust was not only the greatest murder in history; it was also the greatest theft. Historians estimate that the Nazis stole roughly USD230 billion to USD320 billion in assets (figured in today's dollars), from the Jews of Europe. Holocaust Justice is the first book to tell the complete story of the legal campaign, conducted mainly on American soil, to address these injustices. Michael J. Bazyler describes both the human and legal dramas involved in the struggle for restitution, bringing the often-forgotten voices of Holocaust survivors to the forefront. With an eye to the future, he discusses the enduring legacy of Holocaust restitution litigation, which is already being used as a model for obtaining justice for historical wrongs on both the domestic and international stage.

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0814799043
• ISBN 13: 9780814799048
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 411