Beyond compensating victims and their heirs, the quest to recover Holocaust-era assets has prompted some countries to face their wartime pasts more boldly than ever before, says an official closely associated with the campaign.
The effort “is casting a new spotlight on the broader history and meaning of the Holocaust,” Bennett Freeman, former senior adviser to Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat, said here recently.
Freeman, who was in San Francisco to speak at Congregation Emanu-El, cited several nations that have taken steps toward examining their actions:
*The Swiss have not only been looking at dormant accounts held in their nation’s banks, but at their wartime refugee policies.
*The French government’s Matteoli Commission has sparked a “very spirited debate” on the nature and role of the Vichy regime.
*Argentina has been looking at the links between the Peron regime and Nazis seeking post-war refuge in the South American country.
*A historical commission in Sweden has just submitted its report on Jewish assets. The Swedes have also produced a booklet on the Holocaust that can now be found in several hundred thousand Swedish homes.
“It’s in more households than any other book besides the Bible,” Freeman noted. “It’s one of the best consequences of this whole process.”
Freeman sees such efforts as a part of a historical reckoning taking place throughout the world — from Europe to South Africa to Guatemala.
“The approaching end of the century is compelling a lot of countries to take a very hard look at the most difficult periods of their history in this century,” he said.
Freeman, a San Francisco native who attended Lowell High School and U.C. Berkeley, returned to give a talk on “Exploring the Dark Corners of History.” His speech was sponsored by Emanu-El, the American Jewish Committee and the Holocaust Center of Northern California.
Though he recently accepted a new job as deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, Freeman is keeping a close eye on Holocaust assets. In his former position, Freeman directed the State Department’s diplomatic strategy and historical research on issues related to Holocaust assets.
The term “Holocaust assets” has expanded into a broad rubric over the past few years. Attempts are being made to recover everything from looted gold and art to unpaid insurance policies, and to obtain compensation for wartime slave labor.
Freeman, who holds a master’s degree in modern history from Oxford University, frequently found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to report to world leaders tough findings about their countries’ wartime roles.
“It’s very difficult to look friends and allies in the eye and tell them you’re preparing to publish a study which will reveal unpleasant facts,” he said.
In doing so, Freeman and his counterparts had to strike a delicate balance.
“We tried to be unsparing with the facts yet sensitive with the diplomatic implications,” he said. “The key thing on the diplomatic side was to say, ‘Look, we’re not trying to embarrass you. We’re being open on our own record.'”
Also important, he said, was focusing on any positive steps countries have taken to address their wrongdoings. Along those lines, the American team encouraged countries to contribute to the international Nazi Persecutee Relief Fund.
Eizenstat joined British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in announcing the launching of the fund at the December 1997 London Conference on Nazi Gold. Last month, in fact, the United States announced it will allocate $4 million from fiscal year 1998 to the fund. This is the first installment of a $25 million pledge by the United States.
Freeman said the State Department endeavors to avoid finger-pointing and coercion. The department, for example, disagreed with Jewish organizations calling for sanctions against Swiss banks in a fight that eventually led to a $1.25 billion settlement over Holocaust-era bank accounts.
“I cannot deny that the threat of sanctions played a role in bringing about the settlement,” he said. “Having said that, we feel these settlements are best brought about in a non-coercive environment. Our view is that threats are better left unmade.”