Wednesday
Dec222004
U.S. Settles 'Gold Train' Holocaust Claims
Wednesday, December 22, 2004 at 04:37AM
US Military Officers Stole Treasures from Nazis
The U.S. government has reached a settlement with Holocaust survivors over claims that U.S. Army officers plundered a trainload of family treasures that had been seized by Nazis, both sides told a judge Monday. The families and the Justice Department have agreed to a financial award, but the terms were not final and details were not released. They asked a federal judge for 45 days to complete the package. The lawsuit sought up to $10,000 each for as many as 30,000 Hungarian Jews and their survivors. In 1945, in the waning days of World War II, the Nazis sent 24 train cars toward Germany filled with gold, silver, paintings, Oriental rugs, furs and other household goods seized from Hungarian Jews. Nazis, Hungarians and Austrians stole from the train along the way. The Nazi "Gold Train" was then intercepted by U.S. forces and American officers helped themselves to china, silverware and artwork for their homes and offices, according to an advisory commission appointed by then-President Clinton. The train and cargo worth an estimated $50 million to $120 million were shrouded in official secrecy until the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets detailed it in a 1999 draft report. [more]
The U.S. government has reached a settlement with Holocaust survivors over claims that U.S. Army officers plundered a trainload of family treasures that had been seized by Nazis, both sides told a judge Monday. The families and the Justice Department have agreed to a financial award, but the terms were not final and details were not released. They asked a federal judge for 45 days to complete the package. The lawsuit sought up to $10,000 each for as many as 30,000 Hungarian Jews and their survivors. In 1945, in the waning days of World War II, the Nazis sent 24 train cars toward Germany filled with gold, silver, paintings, Oriental rugs, furs and other household goods seized from Hungarian Jews. Nazis, Hungarians and Austrians stole from the train along the way. The Nazi "Gold Train" was then intercepted by U.S. forces and American officers helped themselves to china, silverware and artwork for their homes and offices, according to an advisory commission appointed by then-President Clinton. The train and cargo worth an estimated $50 million to $120 million were shrouded in official secrecy until the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets detailed it in a 1999 draft report. [more]