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Holocaust Issues

Special Envoy O'Donnell at the Berlin conference on anti-Semitism in April 2004. [U.S. Mission to the OSCE photo]The Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, headed by Ambassador Edward B. O'Donnell, Jr., develops and implements U.S. policy with respect to the return of Holocaust-era assets to their rightful owners, compensation for wrongs committed during the Holocaust, and Holocaust remembrance.  The Office does this in a manner that complements and supports broader U.S. interests and initiatives in a Europe committed to democracy, pluralism, human rights, and tolerance. The Office seeks to bring a measure of justice and assistance to Holocaust victims and their families and to create an infrastructure to assure that the Holocaust is remembered properly and accurately.  This is an important issue in our bilateral relations with countries of central and eastern Europe and with the state of Israel.

Much of the Office's work relates to bringing closure to issues left outstanding during the Cold War. Before 1989, the governments of Russia and its satellites refused to permit research into Holocaust questions or the payment of compensation to Holocaust victims and their heirs.  The end of communist governments in eastern Europe made it possible to extend Holocaust programs to those countries.  

In addition, the Office has been involved in facilitating negotiations to reach, and in implementing, various agreements on the subject of Holocaust-era claims. Class action suits in the United States in the 1990's set the stage for the negotiation of a settlement agreement with Swiss Banks and executive agreements with Germany, France, and Austria that dealt with claims arising from unpaid Holocaust-era insurance policies, as the use of forced and slave labor, the illegal seizure of private and communal property, and other personal injuries.   The Special Envoy is a member of the boards of directors overseeing the French and German payments programs.  He maintains close relations with Austrian officials administering the programs negotiated with the Austrian Government. He also serves as an ex-officio member of the Holocaust Memorial Council (the board of directors of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum). 

In addition, the Office of the Special Envoy:

  • Represents the United States on the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.  The U.S. chaired this organization from March 2003 to March 2004. 
  • Urges countries of eastern and central Europe to restitute illegally-confiscated communal and private property to rightful owners. 
  • Encourages the restitution of artworks to rightful owners. 
  • Coordinates U.S. efforts to combat anti-Semitism in the OSCE countries. 
  • Serves as the U.S. Government observer to the International Commission on Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims.

  
Highlights
Payments to Nazi Victims
German Foundation boosts payments to victims of Nazi medical experiments.

Honoring Holocaust Survivors
Vice President Dick Cheney makes remarks as holocaust survivors and their family members listen during a reception at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow, Poland, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005. Vice President Cheney and U.S. Presidential Delegation honor Holocaust survivors at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow.

"Let My People Live"
Vice President Cheney's remarks at the International Forum "Let My People Live" on Jan. 27 in Krakow, Poland: "At Auschwitz we bear witness to the cruelty, and the suffering, and tragedy of a time that is still within living memory. On this anniversary of liberation, we give thanks for the liberators, and for all who labored to free this continent from tyranny." [more]

President Bush signed a proclamation on January 25, proclaiming January 27, 2005, as the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp and called upon all Americans to observe this occasion with appropriate ceremonies and programs to honor the victims of Auschwitz and the Holocaust. [remarks

Global Anti-Semitism Report 
The Global Anti-Semitism Report was released on January 5, 2005.  PL 108-332, signed by the president on October 16, 2004, mandated this one-time report on acts of anti-Semitism worldwide and efforts to eradicate them. [Also: special briefing

Holocaust Era Archival Collections
Holocaust Task Force calls for concrete steps to open the Holocaust Era Archival Collections of the International Tracking Service in Bad Arolsen, Germany.

Combating Anti-Semitism
Fact sheet on Department of State's actions to combat anti-Semitism.

  
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