| Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC March 29, 2001 IBM Lawsuit and Opening of Holocaust-era Corporate ArchivesThe United States has been informed that the attorneys who last month brought the class action lawsuit against IBM asserting claims alleging that IBM equipment aided the activities of the Nazi regime during World War II will file a motion to dismiss that lawsuit later this week. Concern had been raised in Germany that this lawsuit would endanger legal peace for German companies sought by last year's Foundation Agreement. The dismissal of this lawsuit should alleviate any such concern. The plaintiffs' attorneys seek to speed implementation of the German Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility, and the Future," which will make payments and provide a measure of justice to more than one million people. The United States welcomes this development. The primary remedy sought by the plaintiffs in the IBM case was the opening of IBM's archives in relation to the World War II period. The United States strongly supports the opening of all archives, public and private, relating to the Holocaust era in order to facilitate further research and encourage greater understanding of the Holocaust and its historical context. At the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust in January 2000, the United States and other countries declared a shared commitment to take all necessary steps to facilitate the opening of archives. The United States maintains that commitment, as strongly as ever, today. Upon the signing of the Foundation Agreement in July 2000, Stuart E. Eizenstat, Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State on Holocaust Issues, stated that it is "critical that German companies open their archives for research on the Nazi period and World War II." The United States reaffirms its commitment to having all archives, including company archives, wherever located, open and accessible, in order to ensure that all documents bearing on the Holocaust are public. During 1999-2000, IBM donated without restriction over 10,000 pages of historical materials to New York University as well as other documents to Hochenheim University in Stuttgart, Germany. All of these materials -- which relate to the activity of IBM and its German subsidiary during the Nazi era and World War II -- will be or are available to the public. The United States welcomes these steps towards the important goal of archival openness. The United States is committed to continuing to work with IBM, and with all corporations, governments, and other institutions to make other relevant archival materials accessible. |
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