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“HUNGARIAN GOLD TRAIN” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S9215-S9216 on Sept. 14, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HUNGARIAN GOLD TRAIN
Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, on May 24, 2004, 17 Senators wrote to Attorney General John Ashcroft to urge him to resolve the claims brought by several thousand elderly Holocaust survivors in the matter of the Hungarian Gold Train. These survivors seek restitution and an accounting for the mishandling, loss and theft of their property in the years after World War II. Administrations of both parties have made clear our belief that when faced with evidence of wrongdoing, governments should not rely on legalisms and technicalities to avoid responsibility. Those of us who wrote the Attorney General hoped that our own Government would rise to the same level of accountability when its own conduct was at fault.
Unfortunately, the Justice Department continues to resist these survivors strenuously in court. One disturbing tactic is to try to undercut the Government's own research and admissions. The facts about the Hungarian Gold Train were first brought to light by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets, chaired by Edgar Bronfman, in a ``Progress Report'' issued in October 1999. The commission called the Gold Train ``a mysterious example of a single egregious failure of the United States to follow [its own] policy'' regarding restitution of Holocaust victims' property after World War II. Now, however, in its recent filings in Federal court, the Justice Department claims that the PCHA somehow retracted or backed away from its findings. However, I recently received a powerful letter from Edgar Bronfman, the chairman of that commission. Mr. Bronfman makes plain that the commission stands by its report, which, as he points out, is still prominently displayed on its website. I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Bronfman's letter be made part of the Congressional Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Edgar M. Bronfman,
New York, NY, August 25, 2004.Hon. Hillary R. Clinton,U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator: I have been reading your efforts as a member of the United States Senate to address some of the open but extremely important issues in the arena of restitution for living victims of the Holocaust and their heirs. In particular, I am aware, as was reported in the recent edition of The National Journal, that you have taken on a leadership role in seeking a fair and rapid settlement of the Hungarian Gold Train matter.
As you know, I had the privilege of serving as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (``PCHA'') from its inception in 1998 through its conclusion in December 2000.
PCHA was established by act of Congress (P.L. 105-186) in 1998. the enabling legislation directed PCHA to ``conduct a thorough study and develop a historical record of the collection and disposition of the assets'' taken from victims of the Holocaust by Nazi Germany or by the governments it controlled, ``if such assets came into the possession or control of the Federal Government'' at any time after January 30, 1933. As part of its task, PCHA was directed to file such interim reports with the President as it deemed appropriate, and to submit a final report to the President containing any recommendations for legislative, administrative or other actions it deemed necessary or appropriate.
Puruant to its Congressional mandate PCHA issued one such interim report on October 14, 1999, the Progress Report On: The Mystery Of The Hungarian Gold Train (``Progress Report''). The Progress Report is a comprehensive and in-depth historical analysis of the Gold Train story and is, in my view, an accurate account of the United States' handling and disposition of the ``Gold Train'' property. Tragically, that report made public the long-concealed facts that the United States mishandled the Hungarians' property and disposed of it in violation of our laws, a blemish on an otherwise magnificent record at that time.
When I learned that the Department of Justice has criticized the Progress Report, and attempted to minimize its significance in the current Federal court litigation, I wanted to contact you about this urgent matter and state my position as the former PCHA Chairman.
In December 2000 PCHA issued its final report as required by P.L. 105-186. This report, Plunder and Restitution: The U.S. and Holocaust Victims' Assets (``Plunder and Restitution''), did not repeat all the findings of the Progress Report. There was no need to repeat all of the specific findings because they had already been made public and remained available. Rather the findings were summarized along with many others in the final report. In no way, however, did PCHA intend to retract or retreat from the findings of the Progress Report. In fact, for years the Progress Report remained prominently displayed on PCHA's web site and it remains there today at http://
www.holocaustassets.gov/.
I hope this clarifies the historical record and addresses any questions your colleagues may have on this point.
Yours sincerely,
Edgar M. Bronfman.
Mrs. CLINTON. It is time for the Justice Department to do the right thing. It is time to stop the delay and stop hiding behind legalisms and technicalities. The Government should work with the survivors to pay fair, timely and long overdue restitution. As my colleagues and I wrote in May, for these survivors, justice delayed is justice denied.
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