SR 1: Relating to compensation of Holocaust victims and survivors, their heirs, and Jewish communities by the government of Switzerland and the Swiss banking industry.
00SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1 01 Relating to compensation of Holocaust victims and survivors, their heirs, and 02 Jewish communities by the government of Switzerland and the Swiss banking 03 industry. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE: 05 WHEREAS, when the Nazis came to power in Germany more than half a century ago, 06 many European Jews and other individuals frantically sent their valuables to secret bank 07 accounts in neutral Switzerland, trusting their possessions would be safe; and 08 WHEREAS Swiss bank deposits made by Jews and other individuals later murdered 09 in the Holocaust have not all been made available to heirs or to the world Jewish community; 10 and 11 WHEREAS all Americans have a responsibility to ensure that justice is done; and 12 WHEREAS it is appropriate for Alaska to join other states in the effort to encourage 13 Swiss banking institutions to release information that will bring closure to the painful chapter 14 in history we know as the Holocaust and justice to those who lost everything, even their lives,
01 to the actions of the Nazi Germans and the Swiss banks; and 02 WHEREAS the establishment of two commissions by the Swiss government to 03 investigate Switzerland's wartime dealings reflects Swiss recognition of a moral obligation to 04 uncover the truth, especially in light of the advanced age of the Holocaust survivor population; 05 BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate expresses its gratitude to the members of the 06 Swiss government and banking officials who have cooperated thus far in allowing 07 investigations to be carried out because, without their assistance, these investigations would 08 not be possible and none of the assets in question would be recoverable by their rightful 09 owners or their heirs; and be it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate requests the government of Switzerland and 11 the Swiss banking industry to compensate Holocaust survivors, their heirs, and Jewish 12 communities in Switzerland and throughout the world for denying them their property for 13 more than 50 years. 14 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the 15 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President 16 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. 17 Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; to the 18 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the 19 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; 20 and to the seven members of the Federal Council, or Bundesrat, of the Swiss government.