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]
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