An Unfair Portrayal
by Barbara Niederkofler

After numerous accusations, Swiss banks are under criticism for how they managed the banking accounts of Nazi Germany and Holocaust victims. Amidst the hype of all these accusations, the Swiss banks have been unfairly portrayed as immoral and corrupt institutions.

The most important facts have been known for some time: the Swiss National Bank purchased gold which had been seized during the Wehrmacht’s campaigns by Nazi Germany. In the 1946 Washington Agreement, Switzerland promised to hand over 250 million Swiss francs in gold, as well as German assets to the Allies. However, unclaimed assets, some allegedly belonging to Holocaust victims, remained deposited in Swiss bank accounts.

Swiss banks have a tradition of confidentiality, and the Swiss Banking Act adds a special section (dating to 1933, to protect accounts of Jews from Nazi confiscation) which applies very strict obligations to banks concerning all aspects of confidentiality. The banking law prevents any information about a bank customer from being released to a third party, including official requests of foreign governments, except in some very defined situations. Starting with bank employees having to sign the secrecy portion of the banking act as a condition of employment, Swiss bank secrecy is reinforced by a constant awareness of the seriousness of the bank’s obligation to maintain confidentiality.

Last month, the Swiss Parliament passed a law establishing a commission to investigate Switzerland’s financial relationship with Nazi Germany. This law lifts the bank secrecy regulations when dealing with World War II assets. After another 30 million Swiss francs belonging to Holocaust victims were discovered in deposits with as many as 51 banks, the Swiss Bankers Association made an agreement with the World Jewish Congress to set up a commission to track down Jewish assets.

The National Council and the Council of States have decided to set up a group of experts to examine the role of the Swiss financial center during World War II. In the Swiss federal archives alone at least 500 meters of documents are awaiting this group, and the work required will take about eighty years to complete.

The Swiss government and the Bankers association are clearly initiating investigations of the assets. It is unfair to construe the Swiss commitment to thoroughness as an attempt to cover their tracks. With all their efforts, it is apparent that the Swiss have nothing to hide. They admit that such assets exist. They are willing to hand over these assets, but the demand of handing them over immediately is absurd. The bankers responsible for these assets have long since retired, and to find the specific accounts belonging to Holocaust victims is a difficult, meticulous task.

Switzerland’s image abroad had been deteriorating as a result of re "revelations," particularly those made by American senator Alfonse D’Amato. Swiss banks should not be condemned when evidence to support those accusations does not exist. This particularly applies to private security guard’s accusation of a Swiss bank shredding documents. Can we hold the word of a single man as true and condemn the Swiss bankers as corrupt?

Journalists have placed Swiss banks under fire, but only when an extensive investigation is complete can we judge Switzerland’s role. Without evidence, we cannnot condemn Switzerland nor can we expect to find the truth overnight. Over 50 years have eroded the records and to expect to know everything, especially from banks that have a tradition of confidentiality, is frankly unreasonable.

An Unacceptable Pace
by Inna Resnick

A country’s degree of urgency in handling a problem sheds light on how much priority is given to that problem. Switzerland’s lackadaisical attitude and outright hostility toward the release of information concerning Nazi war profits and the Swiss banking accounts of Holocaust victims prove its unfortunate indifference to a very serious issue.

Swiss banks are required by law to forego their usual confidentiality policies in the case of accounts related to the Holocaust. A recent law passed by the Swiss Parliament established an independent commission to research Switzerland’s financial relationship with the Nazis and to suspend secrecy regulations in order to aid the investigation. World War II ended over fifty years ago, and the issue of lost money has presented a problem ever since. If Switzerland is to be compassionate toward Holocaust victims, it should carry out the promises it has made.

The Swiss must release in a more urgent manner information concerning the accounts of Holocaust victims who attempted to hide their money from the Nazis. The families of the victims, those members who are still alive, deserve at least the belongings of their murdered loved ones. Offers of appeasement only serve to shed further doubt on the authenticity of the government’s claims to cooperate with an international investigation. In an effort to quiet the clamor from Jewish groups in the US and Israel, Switzerland offered to set up a fund worth $29.5 million dollars in order to aid Holocaust victims and their descendants. This is an unacceptable offer. As Avraham Burh, the chairman of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem stated, "They’re [the Swiss] trying to buy us with money that’s not their." The victims’ families deserve to receive this money. They have been waiting for fifty years while the Swiss have been profiting, through earned interest, from the immense tragedy.

A more troublesome issue involves money that was deposited by the Nazis and their allies during the Holocaust. Nazi money is dirty money from whichever perspective one views it. This money was stolen from both innocent people and conquered countries. These deposits constitute the plunders of those responsible for the murder of six million Jews and several million other people. Unfortunately, this money may be difficult to trace. Some may have been deposited by countries selling goods to the Nazis, as in the case of Portugal, which sold tungsten for gold or, by countries receiving money from the Nazis in exchange for help, as in the case of Argentina, which smuggled in Nazi leaders toward the end of the war. Regardless, Switzerland must treat this task seriously, resolving it both swiftly and fairly.

So far, Switzerland has only manifested a profound prejudice against the Jews, If began with President Jean-Pascal Delamuraz’s cold comment that American efforts to establish a fund with the money of Holocaust victims was "nothing less than extortion and blackmail." The former Swiss Ambassador to the US, Carlo Jagmetti, followed suit, writing in a cable that "this is a war which Switzerland ... must win" and referring to Jewish groups as "opponents who cannot be trusted." His harsh statements justifiably forced him to resign. The government is obviously seeing the situation as an "us against them" issue. Furthermore, the recent discovery that the Union Bank of Switzerland attempted to destroy documents dealing with the auction of captured Jewish property places further doubt on Swiss willingness to cooperate in the investigation.

It is due time that the Swiss make it a priority to uncover what went on during World War II and work closely with Jewish groups. The families of Holocaust victims deserve so much more. And the world should expect so much more.