Swiss banks publish 3,100 more Holocaust accounts

NEW YORK - Holocaust survivors and relatives of those who perished have a chance to recover money long held by Swiss banks with the release of a new list of 3,100 names of account owners who may have been Nazi victims.

Representatives of Holocaust survivors and their families welcomed the move but said they had hoped the names could have been provided sooner. The move should bring closure to a long and arduous struggle to prod notoriously secretive Swiss banks to open their records and make restitution.

"We would have hoped that these names could have been published at an earlier stage," said Gideon Taylor of the Claims Conference, which represents Holocaust survivors and their families.

"We are glad they are finally made available for claimants to see if family members had bank accounts," he added.

The release of the new accounts follows years of negotiations and is in addition to 21,000 names of Swiss account holders of likely Nazi victims published in 2001 as part of a US$1.25 billion (NZ$1.77bn) settlement reached in 1998 between Holocaust survivors and Swiss banks.

More than 2,800 awards worth US$240 million (NZ$340m) out of an available pool of US$800 million ordered by a US federal court have been made so far to those showing they or their relatives had Swiss deposits from 1933 to 1945 that were not repaid.

Besides the additional names being published on two websites, Swiss banks - including UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group - made available a database of 4.1 million accounts from the Holocaust era for potential claimants to check against.

"These measures bring finality to the matter," a spokesman for UBS said.

'SYMBOLIC JUSTICE'

Some Holocaust survivors accuse the banks of stalling.

"The Swiss banks have taken too long to publish the lists," Leo Rechter, 77, secretary of Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, said on Thursday. "The average Holocaust survivor thinks they are waiting for all of us to die so they can do whatever they want with the money. This is the sentiment."

Claimants have six months to file claims. The highest payment to date has been US$4 million. If records do not show how much was on deposit, legitimate claimants receive US$125,000.

Any funds remaining in the US$800 million pool will be used for social welfare programs to be determined at a future date.

"Better late than never," Holocaust and Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Aron Krell, 77, told reporters.

"Even if they have taken a very long time it at least gives survivors a chance of getting something back that rightfully belongs to them," the Manhattan resident said.

Taylor said the payouts were more symbolic than for financial gain. "For many Holocaust survivors what is important with these settlements is not the money. We say we are trying to achieve a symbolic acknowledgment, a measure of justice."

Of the US$1.25 billion settlement, about US$700 million has been distributed, including US$255 million to surviving slave laborers and US$205 million to social agencies serving the poorest victims of Nazism.

- REUTERS