Press Releases
NEWS: HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR RECEIVES DAMAGES FROM HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT
New York City — Lieb Goldstein, a Holocaust survivor who lost nine of his eleven family members in the Nazi genocide, will be awarded damages from the Hungarian Government, Representative Anthony D. Weiner (D—Brooklyn and Queens) announced today. Rep. Weiner has been working with the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg (UJO) and the U.S. Embassy in Hungary to provide the award in a timely fashion. Mr. Goldstein is advancing in age and Rep. Weiner was instrumental in expediting the case due to the situation’s urgent nature.
Lieb Goldstein is a 101-year-old Holocaust survivor who had filed with the Hungarian Compensation Bureau for the death of his parents, three siblings, wife and seven children, all of whom were exterminated in the Holocaust.
The cases were not approved by the Bureau and were turned over to a trial judge as the elderly man could recall the Yiddish names of his relatives but not the official Hungarian names listed on their birth certificates; however, sufficient evidence was available to match their names. The trial date was set and then delayed when the members of the Hungarian Compensation Bureau failed to appear on the assigned date. Mr. Goldstein and UJO feared that delays were tactics used to prevent Mr. Goldstein from even having his case settled.
After being contacted by UJO in March, Rep. Weiner sent a letter to the Ambassador of Hungary, Ferenc Somogyyi, demanding that he “take all the necessary steps to thoroughly investigate this matter.” In the letter, Rep. Weiner wrote, “As you will note Mr. Goldstein is elderly and eager to have this matter justly resolved in his lifetime.” Mr. Goldstein need wait no longer.
Rep. Weiner said, “Nothing will ever heal the heartache and loss Mr. Goldstein has endured. But today we have finally helped to ease his struggle, and I am proud to have served him.”
