Presentation of the Final Report of the Claims Committee

Time: Tuesday, 19 January 2021, 5:30 pm

Venue: Zoom Meeting (details below)

PROGRAMME:

Words of welcome
MAG. HANNAH LESSING (Secretary General of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria and the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism)

Greeting
MAG. WOLFGANG SOBOTKA (President of the National Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the General Settlement Fund)

From the Washington Agreement to the General Settlement Fund
DR. HANS WINKLER (former Head of the International Law Office, key participant in the negotiations leading to the Washington Agreement 2001)

The work of the Claims Committe
SIR FRANKLIN BERMAN (former Chairman of the Claims Committee)

Compensation of assets in practice
MAG. CHRISTINE SCHWAB (former Deputy Secretary General of the General Settlement Fund)

These contributions will be followed by a discussion between the participants and questions from the audience.

Moderation:
MAG. HANNAH LESSING

CONTENT:

January 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Washington Agreement between the USA and Austria. The agreement regulated issues of compensation and restitution for victims of National Socialism and constituted a milestone in Austria's efforts to come to terms with its Nazi past. In 2001, the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism was established on the basis of this Agreement to provide a comprehensive solution to open questions of compensation and to acknowledge Austria’s moral responsibility for asset losses incurred by the Nazis’ victims by making voluntary payments. Losses that had not (or not sufficiently) been accounted for under previous Austrian restitution and compensation measures were paramount.

To coincide with of the 20th anniversary of the Washington Agreement, the Final Report of the Claims Committee will be presented in book form. Spanning 562 pages, this publication documents the activities of the Claims Committee – an independent and internationally-composed body that decided on 20,702 applications for compensation of asset losses. Around 25,000 Nazi victims and heirs received compensation payments totaling approx. 215 million U.S. dollars.

VIDEO CONFERENCE:

The event is open to the interested public via Zoom from 17:30 on 19 January 2021 and will be recorded.

Join the Zoom meeting: us02web.zoom.us/j/86162136671?pwd=WEJtTWxVQ2VHSDV5UkxLV082SjdlZz09

Meeting ID: 861 6213 6671

ID code: 632088

back