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Treasury Deputy Secretary Stuart Eizenstat
Statement at the conclusion of the 11th Plenary Meeting of the German Foundation Initiative, "Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future," Berlin, Germany, March 23, 2000
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This is a great day. We have taken a huge step forward today. We achieved a consensus agreement* on the allocation
of the 10 billion Deutchmarks (DM) in the German Foundation to which all parties have agreed -- German business led ably
by Dr. Manfred Gentz; the countries of Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the Czech Republic; the State of Israel;
the Jewish Claims Conference; and the attorneys who represent victims in U.S. courts. I would like to express special
appreciation to the German Parliamentarians for their tireless support and assistance. This is a remarkable achievement,
in particular for the German Government and the Chancellor's gifted Special Representative, Otto -- Count -- Lambsdorff.
This brings this process a substantial step closer to completion.
To achieve this consensus, all of the participants in these negotiations have had to make compromises because
there is only a limited amount of money in the foundation. All had to show flexibility from their initial demands.
Count Lambsdorff and I met with each group of participants. All vigorously defended their positions, but all recognized
the larger imperative of reaching agreement now so that funds could promptly go to survivors. Count Lambsdorff
and I introduced a joint proposal that sought to meet the basic needs of each participant.
I am pleased to report that all participants have given their assent to our joint proposal. This could not have
been done without all parties demonstrating flexibility and a spirit of compromise. For that, I express gratitude
and appreciation to each participant.
At the same time, what we have achieved today is a fair agreement that takes account of the interests of all parties.
Let me outline the allocation agreement that we have achieved:
There will be DM 8.1 billion allocated to make payments to surviving slave and forced laborers and to others for
other personal injuries.
The German Foundation will allocate the DM 8.1 billion from within the DM 10 billion to labor. The DM 8.1 billion will be
increased by anticipated interest earnings of DM 50 million, for a total of DM 8.150. We also hope there will be a
contribution from the Swiss settlement to the Foundation.
The labor payments would be allocated among seven partner organizations: the Conference on Jewish Material Claims;
the five Reconciliation Foundations in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the Czech Republic; and a yet-to-be
designated organization for the rest of the world. In addition, the Foundation will hold an amount in reserve for
other personal injury cases.
Here are the agreed allocations, including an amount of estimated earned interest:
Claims Conference: 1.812 billion
Poland: 1.812 billion
Ukraine: 1.724 billion
Russia: 835 million
Belarus: 694 million
Czech Republic: 423 million
Rest of the World: 800 million
Other Personal Injury: 50 million
The allocations to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims will reach surviving slave laborers residing outside
of the five central and east European countries. The Reconciliation Foundations in the five central and east European countries will handle payments
to all their citizens, including Jewish slave laborers.
Aside from labor, our agreement on allocation also covered the other categories in the Foundation: property, the
Future Fund, and administration.
We agree that the allocation to property will be DM 1 billion. The DM 1 billion will be divided as follows: for claims,
350 million, and 650 million for humanitarian cases.
The DM 350-million claims portion will be allocated as follows:
1. 150 million for racially motivated property claims against German companies.
2. 50 million for all other property claims against German companies.
3. 150 million for insurance claims, which will be supplemented by an additional 50 million to be generated from
interest earned.
There will also be a reserve of DM 100 million in the Future Fund to cover any additional insurance claims if necessary, creating the potential for DM 300 million for insurance claims, if required.
The DM 650-million humanitarian portion will be between insurance and property.
The insurance portion of the settlement involving both claims and non-claims will be consistent with the procedures
established by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims.
Finally, we have agreed that DM 200 million will be reserved for administration of the Foundation.
With this allocation agreement, we have now concluded a key element of our December 1999 agreement for the funding
of the German Foundation.
Today's agreement puts in place two of the three important elements of this settlement -- the overall figure of
DM 10 billion and allocation of the funds. A key third element -- legal peace for German firms -- requires agreement
on provisions affecting actions before U.S. courts. The Federal Cabinet approved a draft law yesterday, which will
help move the legislation through the Bundestag. But, as I have stated often, the final law will be the linchpin
of the legal settlement. I cannot overemphasize this point. The German legal basis for the Foundation will be examined
carefully by our courts. If it does not incorporate the substance of the agreements reached here, it will not be
deemed to be sufficient basis for dismissal of the lawsuits or for the U.S. to act in support of that goal.
In conclusion, I want to re-emphasize the significance of today's achievement, and I look forward to continuing
to work on the remaining issues in the coming weeks.
* The German Foundation Allocation Agreement Chart is in PDF format. To view PDF files, you must first download the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe. (Installation and web browser instructions are included.) Or, to convert the PDF document to HTML, note the file's URL (http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/holocaust/assets.pdf), then go to: http://access.adobe.com/simple_form.html and type (or copy and paste from this page) the file name into the form which appears on that page and select the conversion option you desire.
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