Synopses & Reviews
The injustices committed against millions of Europe's Jews did not end with the fall of the Third Reich. Long after the Nazis had seized the belongings of Holocaust victims, Swiss banks concealed and appropriated their assets, demanding that their survivors produce the death certificates or banking records of the depositors in order to claim their family's property--demands that were usually impossible for the petitioners to meet. Now the full account of the Holocaust deposits affair is revealed by the journalist who first broke the story in 1995. Relying on archival and contemporary sources, Itamar Levin describes the Jewish people's decades-long effort to return death camp victims' assets to their rightful heirs. Levin also uncovers the truth about the behavior of Swiss banking institutions, their complicity with the Nazis, and their formidable power over even their own "neutral" government.
Review
The dimension of the robbery is so vast, so expansive, that I believe Itamar Levin's book is just the beginning of the revelations yet to come...This will not atone the deeds already done, and certainly not the loss of life, but there could be no greater mission of human justice.from the foreword by Avraham Burg, Speaker of the Knesset
Review
The Last Deposit and Swiss Banks and Jewish Souls tell their complicated story with passion....[h]elpful in chronicling the campaign against the swiss banks.Studies In Contemporary Jewry An Annual XVIII
Review
The fact that a series of countries, under international pressure and with the courage of a new generation, are dealing with the darker chapters of the past, proves the moral importance of the struggle.from the foreword by Israel Singer Secretary General, World Jewish Congress and Edgar Bronfman President, World Jewish Congress
Synopsis
Now the full acccount of the Holocaust deposits affair is revealed by the journalist who first broke the story in 1995.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-241) and index.
About the Author
ITAMAR LEVIN is Deputy Editor in Chief, Globes--Israel's Business Newspaper.NATASHA DORNBERG is Managing Editor of Israel's Business Arena, Globes' internet site.
Table of Contents
Foreword: No Greater Human Justice by Avraham Burg
Foreword: Struggle for the Restoration of Human Dignity by Israel Singer and Edgar Bronfman
Preface
"The Encompassing Fog": Europe's Jews Transferred Millions to Switzerland
"Switzerland Will Examine Favorably": Victims' Money Was Designated for Refugee Rehabilitation
"Cruelly Ironic": Switzerland Exploits Property without Heirs for Its Own Purposes
"Crying and Screaming": A Dozen Years of Frustration with the Swiss Banks and Government
"Cold as Ice": Evading the Law for Restoration of Property
"We Go to War": A New Generation Takes on Righting the Wrongs
"It's the Principle": The Beginning of a Frontal Assault on the Banks
"The Jews Were Betrayed": The Battle Moves to the American Front
"Opening to the Wall": Neutral Switzerland Served Nazi Interests
"The Parties Will Cooperate": The Beginning of Independent Investigation of the Deposits Affair
"Oppression and Blackmail": Serious Blunders Cost Switzerland a Series of Crises
"Easing the Suffering": First Steps towards Absolving the Signs of the Past
Bibliography
Index