Chamber to Seek Money for Nazi Slave Labor Fund

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will solicit donations from U.S. corporations to compensate slave laborers and others who were forced to work in German factories owned by American companies or their subsidiaries during World War II, authorities said Saturday.

The chamber, which represents more than 3 million businesses worldwide, decided to establish the fund after being approached by the Clinton administration and a number of major U.S. corporations that have been threatened with lawsuits by survivors and their heirs.

Several large American corporations, including Ford and General Motors, have acknowledged having benefited from slave labor during the war.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Stuart E. Eizenstat and chamber officials plan to announce the project Monday at a conference on corporate responsibility in Washington.

The fund would allow companies to pool resources to respond to many humanitarian challenges around the world, including disaster relief.

The fund would be led by L. Craig Johnstone, who is a senior vice president of the chamber, a former ambassador to Algeria under President Reagan and a former director of the State Department’s office of policy and plans under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.