For Holocaust Victims, a Measure of Justice

For Henry Kress, the issue has never been money--it’s been justice.

This week, the Auschwitz survivor came one step closer to feeling that justice had been served when Jewish groups, two Swiss banks and lawyers for Holocaust survivors reached a $1.25-billion settlement over claims to assets lost during World War II.

The money will be paid over three years and may go to both organizations and individuals. Swiss bank officials said the first payment of $250 million is to be made in 90 days.

Survivors “have not filed claims to get money but to get justice,” said Kress, 74, vice president of the Orange County chapter of Shoah Survivors, a national group. “A lot of our people are passing away every day. We are looking forward to distributing it to needy people, not just in the United States but in all of Europe.”

For years, Swiss banks stonewalled the efforts of Holocaust survivors like Kress and his wife, Mary, to receive compensation for money and property they lost under Nazi occupation.

“They wanted death certificates of people burned in Auschwitz,” said Kress, who lives in Irvine. “It’s a victory to us to prove to the world that things were taken away from us and no one cared.”

Kress said he is waiting for word from leaders in his organization of how the settlement will be distributed.

“Whatever we will get, we will be satisfied,” he said. “Every survivor is entitled to some of the money; we should all get an equal share. We don’t want to be greedy.”

Rabbi Arnold Rachlis of University Synagogue in Irvine also applauded the agreement. Rachlis, whose mother is a Holocaust survivor, saw the settlement as significant, though he made clear that no financial award could make amends for so much human suffering.

“This is not a gift or donation or charity. This is justice. Survivors will be able to enjoy more comfort in their later years,” he said.

Rachlis said he was looking forward to investigations into how other countries, their banks and insurance companies also profited from helping the Nazis.

“In a way, the story has just begun,” he said. “It’s the end of the first chapter of a story that is going to go on.”