Yet Another Holocaust Theft

For 53 years the family of Moshe Stern, who was murdered at Auschwitz along with his wife and three of their seven children, has tried to collect on the insurance policies taken out by Stern, a wine producer. Since the end of World War II, Fred Jackson, a survivor of Dachau, has been filing claims on a policy taken out by his father, who was killed at a concentration camp. The Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali, which wrote both policies, has rejected the claims.

Beyond private lawsuits, what recourse do such families have?

Well, the California Insurance Commission is threatening to revoke the state licenses of this and other firms failing to honor such claims. If that is what it takes to get the companies’ attention, so be it.

When state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush asked 10 European insurers to voluntarily participate at a hearing last month, only one--Allianz AG of Munich--sent a representative. Generali declined, saying it did not want to make public comments because of a pending national class action lawsuit in New York on the same allegations. California is a party to that suit.

Quackenbush is pursuing this issue with vigor. Up to 20,000 California residents--Holocaust survivors as well as children of some of the 6 million who perished in the genocide--have unpaid claims of various kinds. The House Banking Committee too is investigating, holding hearings this week. Time is short because of the age of the survivors. A claims clearing process is likely to be complicated and will have to be international.

It took international pressure and determined efforts of Jewish organizations and the U.S. government to force Swiss banks to make amends for holding onto the substantial deposits of Holocaust victims. Museums have been working to trace artwork plundered from Jewish owners during the 1930s. The unresolved insurance claims are just one more theft from Holocaust survivors and their heirs.