| Press Statement Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman Washington, DC September 19, 2002 Holocaust Insurance Agreement ReachedThe United States welcomes today's announcement of a $275 million agreement to settle unpaid insurance claims that will benefit aging Holocaust survivors and their families worldwide. The agreement between the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, chaired by former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger, and the German Foundation, "Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future," establishes a process to pay World War II-era claims against German companies. The International Commission and the German Foundation will work with the entire German insurance industry to distribute $100 million for claims and processing costs and $175 million in humanitarian funds, which were provided under a key provision of a bilateral agreement signed by the U.S. and Germany in July 2000. This Administration has strongly supported efforts to conclude the insurance agreement so that valid claims can be paid and humanitarian funds distributed during claimants' lifetimes. Working in close cooperation with Germany, the United States has played a leading role in international cooperative efforts to right World War II-era injustices and has long been committed to seeking justice for Holocaust survivors and their families. The U.S. has supported the International Commission since its establishment in 1998 and believes that it should be viewed as the exclusive remedy for unresolved insurance claims from the Nazi era and World War II. The German Foundation has made payments to nearly one million survivors in recognition of the suffering they endured as slave and forced laborers during World War II. Today's agreement is a major success for U.S.-German cooperation, capping several years of work involving a wide spectrum of non-governmental organizations, political leaders, insurance executives, and private citizens in both countries. The U.S. Government is strongly committed to supporting the Foundation and its work through the U.S.-German Executive Agreement of July 2000. |
 | |||
|
