Simon Wiesenthal Center Statement Concerning Congressional Investigation of Nazi-Linked Assets

June 22, 2023

Washington, D.C. – The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) released the following statement following its June 21st meeting with the United States Senate Committee on the Budget (“Budget Committee”) to discuss the Budget Committee’s continuing investigation into foreign banks’ retention of Nazi assets during and after World War II.  (See “Credit Suisse Maintained Nazi-Linked Accounts Into 21st Century, Subpoenaed Records Show.” Senate Budget Committee, April 18, 2023).
 
Rabbi Abraham Cooper (SWC Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action), Dr. Ariel Gelblung (SWC Latin America Director), Father Patrick Desbois (Chargé de mission of the Cardinal of Paris and Vatican Advisor on Relations with Judaism), and  attorneys, Jonathan Missner and Andrew Beato, from Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP, met with  Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to express their support and appreciation for the continued pursuit of their bipartisan investigation.
 
SWC officials presented Shofars (Ram’s Horn) to Senators Whitehouse and Grassley along with plaques inscribed with the Biblical words “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof” – “Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue”.

“As the institution that Holocaust survivor and renowned Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal entrusted with his name and legacy some forty-five years ago, the SWC continues its unwavering commitment to provide clear, objective, and substantiated evidence of any Nazi-linked assets in financial institutions,” said Rabbi Cooper.
 
“The SWC also appreciates the Budget Committee’s recognition of the right of an institution, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center, to investigate and hold accountable any entity with historic relationships to members of the Nazi party or the pillages of World War II. Today, more than ever, the SWC is committed to this mission, and will continue to work to ensure that those who profited from the horrors of World War II are scrutinized and held to account to the maximum possible degree.”
 
“The Simon Wiesenthal Center is forever grateful to Chairman Whitehouse, Ranking Member Grassley, and to all the Members of the Senate Budget Committee for the courage to move forward with their investigation,” Rabbi Cooper concluded.
 

For further information contact the Center’s Communications department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

CSW Declara sobre la Investigación del Congreso de EEUU Referida a Activos Vinculados a los Nazis