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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (5498)	4/17/2003 9:23:07 AM
From: lorne	Respond to of 15987

France told it owes Jews millions Commission submits findings on World War II reparations Apr. 16, 2003. PARIS (AP) — The French government and banks owe at least $94.7 million (U.S.) in reparations to Jews whose assets were seized by France's pro-Nazi regime during World War II, a commission said today. However, the finding by the Commission for the Indemnity of Victims of Despoliation, or CIVS, is not binding. It will be submitted to the government — which created the commission in 1999 — for a final review. The commission's announcement today was based on analyses of 5,500 requests by French Jews seeking restitution. Some 8,800 requests remain. Based on the initial requests, the commission recommended that the government pay $91 million in compensation and banks pay $3.7 million (all figures U.S.). During World War II, occupied France's collaborationist Vichy regime passed a series of laws ordering financial institutions to block Jewish accounts and sell off Jewish-owned stocks and bonds. The measures, which made Jews vulnerable to persecution and deportation, banned them from many professions and from owning businesses and property. A 2000 report by another government commission called the extent of wartime looting "stunning." That commission, headed by former French resistance fighter Jean Matteoli, said the Vichy regime confiscated $1.3 billion in assets from Jews during the war. Those assets included 50,000 businesses and property including bank accounts, insurance policies, art works and pianos. However, most property and money was returned to survivors or their heirs. The Matteoli commission was France's answer to accusations the nation was unwilling to face its own role in the Holocaust. CIVS then was created to conduct a more thorough search and serve as the legal framework for Jews to seek reparations. thestar.com