Mar. 2



BELARUS:

Belarus Remembers 5,000 Killed by Nazis


Ambassadors, civic leaders and scores of others gathered Tuesday at the
site of the Nazi's mass killing of Jews in Minsk to mark the anniversary
of the Nazi pogrom.

On March 2, 1942, on the first day of the Jewish holiday Purim, about
5,000 Jews were killed. The slayings were the start of a systematic
massacre of more than 100,000 Jews in Minsk, during the Nazi occupation of
then-Soviet Belarus.

The victims included Jews from Germany, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands
and other European countries, who had been deported by the Nazis to
Belarus.

"We must remember those 5,000 innocent Jews who were destroyed in Minsk so
that it does not repeat itself," said Leonid Levin, president of the Union
of Belarusian Social Organizations and Societies.

Leonid Rubenshtein's entire family of five was killed in the Minsk ghetto.
Addressing those gathered, the 76-year-old said "I remember that terrible
day and I speak today for those who already cannot speak."

"These terrible years are being forgotten by those who today attempt to
vindicate Naziism," Rubenshtein said.

Belarus witnessed a series of anti-Semitic actions last year, including
vandalism of cemeteries and memorial sites, prompting Jewish organizations
to strongly urge President Alexander Lukashenko to take action.

Among the 150 attending Tuesday's memorial were several Western
ambassadors, including George Krol of the United States, who called the
killings a crime against humanity.

"The memory of the tragedy must caution us against the tragic mistakes of
the past," Krol said.

During World War II around 800,000 Jews were killed in Belarus.

(source: Associated Press)





USA:

Researcher says 2 Kerry relatives died in Holocaust

Two ancestors of Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic front-runner for
president, were taken from their Vienna apartment by the Nazis in 1942
and killed in the Holocaust, according to information unearthed by an
Austrian researcher who has studied the genealogy of the Massachusetts
senator.

Felix Gundacker of the Institute for Historical Family Research in Vienna
was hired last year by the Boston Globe to study Kerry's roots and
ultimately was able to verify through genealogical records that the
senator is descended from Central European Jews.

Kerry's grandfather, whose parents were Czech Jews, changed his name from
Fritz Kohn to Frederick Kerry and converted to Catholicism in 1902 before
emigrating to the United States.

Gundacker has posted the findings of his research on his Web site
(www.IHFF.at), which he has continued to update since the Globe published
its story in February 2003. The site was most recently updated Sunday.

The site contains stunning new, previously unreported information under
the heading, "Two family members murdered by the Nazis in extermination
camps."

According to Gundacker, on Aug. 13, 1942, the brother and sister of
Kerry's paternal grandmother, Ida Lowe, were snatched from their Vienna
apartment. Otto Lowe was killed less than a year later at a Jewish prison
and ghetto erected by the Nazis in Czechoslovakia to serve as a point of
debarkation to extermination camps in Poland.

Jenny Lowe, according to Gundacker, survived the ghetto only to perish in
a concentration camp.

"They were deported to the camp Theresienstadt," Gundacker wrote. "Here
Otto was murdered on June 29, 1943; and Jenny vanished into the horrors of
Treblinka."

In all, the Nazis deported some 140,000 Jews to Theresienstadt and 33,000,
including Kerry's granduncle Otto, died there. He was 67 years old,
according to Gundacker.

Kerry's grandaunt Jenny was 70 when she was seized by the Nazis in Vienna,
but there is no indication how old she was when she was killed.

Gundacker's research found that Jenny was among those sent by train to
Treblinka, where 870,000 people, mostly Jews, were murdered under the
Third Reich. The commandant of Treblinka later testified at his trial that
between 12,000 and 15,000 people per day were fatally gassed at the camp
and their bodies incinerated.

Gundacker could not be immediately reached in Vienna for comment, but
using the Web site of the Online Archive of the Austrian Resistance, his
findings about the fates of Otto and Jenny Lowe can be verified. The site
maintains a database of Austrian Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Kerry told the Globe in 2003 that he had known for about 15 years about
his Jewish roots, but was never able to track down many details.

The New York newspaper Newsday reported on its Web site Sunday that Kerry,
when asked about the newest revelations, said: "I'm very touched by the
knowledge that one of my relatives was in the Holocaust. It gives an even
greater personal sense of connection (to the Holocaust) that is very real
and very touching. It makes you wonder how horrible their lives must have
been."

Historian Douglas Brinkley, Kerry's biographer, said information about
Kerry's ancestors dying in the Holocaust has never been made public
before. Brinkley said that if Kerry were elected, he would be the first
U.S. president with family members known to have perished in the
Holocaust.

(source: Newark Star-Ledger)


******************


U.S. Supreme Court mulling case over art stolen by Nazis


In Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court wrangled Wednesday over whether to
allow a lawsuit by an elderly Los Angeles woman over $150 million worth of
paintings stolen by the Nazis from her relatives more than 65 years ago.

Justices have been asked to let Maria Altmann pursue her suit seeking to
recover over $150 million worth of paintings stolen by the Nazis. The
government of Austria, which has the art, is trying to block the suit in a
California court.

Bush administration lawyer Thomas Hungar said that America's foreign
relations would be disrupted if countries like Austria and Japan are put
through costly legal fights in U.S. courts.

If Altmann wins, she could resume her lawsuit to recover six Gustav Klimt
paintings, including two impressionistic portraits of her aunt. They are
now part of the Austrian Gallery's popular Klimt collection.

Scott P. Cooper of Los Angeles, one of Austria's lawyers, said that
country has long believed that it was shielded from lawsuits in the United
States over expropriated art and other things.

"I don't know that we protect expectations of the sort you're talking
about," Justice Antonin Scalia told him.

A victory for the 88-year-old Altmann, critics warn, could lead to
lawsuits in American courts against galleries worldwide and would revive
old allegations of government misconduct.

Two other cases involving similar issues already are pending at the
Supreme Court: appeals that involve a lawsuit against Japan by women who
claim they were used as sex slaves during World War II and a lawsuit by
Holocaust survivors and heirs against the French national railroad for
transporting more than 70,000 Jews and others to Nazi concentration camps.

Justice Stephen Breyer, one of two Jewish members of the high court, said
he could envision "a pretty big nightmare" if courts were thrown open to
multiple old property disputes.

The question for the court is whether to allow lawsuits over disputes
predating a 1952 U.S. government policy that shielded some countries from
lawsuits.

Altmann's aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, died in 1925 after asking that the art
be donated to the government gallery. Her uncle died in exile in
Switzerland at the end of World War II and left his possessions to Altmann
and two of her siblings. Only Altmann is still alive.

Austria argues that it rightfully owns the paintings. It says a member of
Altmann's family gave the Klimt paintings to the museum, as her aunt had
requested in her will. Altmann's lawyers contend the will was invalid.

The Bush administration supports Austria. Solicitor General Theodore Olson
told justices in a filing that "the United States has strongly condemned
the Nazi atrocities, and it has sought to rectify Nazi wrongs through
diplomatic and other means."

The government has not, however, authorized U.S. courts to resolve
war-related claims, he said.

(source: Associated Press)


************************

US Museum to Return Painting Stolen by Nazis During WWII


A museum in the western U.S. state of Utah says it will return to its
owners an 18th century painting confiscated by the Nazis during World War
II.

The Utah Museum of Fine Arts says it recently learned that Francois
Boucher's The Young Lovers was stolen in 1940 from French art dealer
Andrew Jean Seligmann.

The museum said the painting ended up in the hands of Hitler's deputy
Hermann Goering during World War II. After the war, the painting found its
way to a New York art gallery and a private collector before being donated
to the Utah museum in 1993.

Two of Mr. Seligmann's heirs will travel to Utah next month to take the
painting.

(source: VOA News)

*******************************

New York City Council Considers Supporting Hungarian Holocaust Survivors
in Gold Train Case


City Council to Hold Legislative Hearing on Resolution Urging Prompt and
Just Settlement


NEW YORK, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Council will begin
considering a resolution Wednesday, March 3, urging justice for Hungarian
Holocaust survivors in the Gold Train case, and asking the U.S. Justice
Department to respect the elderly survivors and stop seeking to delay the
case.

The council will hear testimony from survivors who claim family heirlooms,
furniture, artwork and other personal valuables were looted and sold at
auction by the U.S. government following WWII. More than a thousand
Hungarian Holocaust survivors and their families live in New York City,
the largest group of survivors in the country. A large group of Hungarian
Holocaust survivors is expected to attend the hearing.

"Our government has called on the world to be accountable to the survivors
of the Holocaust. For some reason, the U.S. Justice Department is refusing
to follow the same standard," said David Yassky (D-Brooklyn), the council
member who introduced the resolution. "New York City is the home for so
many who lost so much. Our city should go on record on their behalf and in
support of justice. It's in our finest tradition."

The hearing is the first by an American governmental body to call
attention to the unjust U.S. refusal to return heirlooms to Hungarian
Holocaust survivors following WWII, and could spur other government bodies
to pass similar resolutions. By holding a hearing and passing this
resolution, David Yassky and his colleagues will send a strong message to
the Congress and the Attorney General that the fragile Hungarian Holocaust
survivors cannot wait any longer for justice.

The City of New York will continue the tradition of supporting Holocaust
survivors started when New York protests brought attention to insurance
companies' refusal to pay claims related to Holocaust victims.

The Holocaust survivors, their families and others supporting their plight
will meet in the Red Room in New York City Hall at noon to hear an update
on the issue and then testify before the Committee on Cultural Affairs at
approximately 1 p.m. The committee will then discuss a resolution
recommending the Justice Department 'promptly reach a fair settlement with
[survivors] as a modest and overdue measure of justice.'

"These survivors have already endured far more than anyone should be asked
to which makes the continued stalling by the Justice Department even more
appalling," said Michael Waldman, an attorney representing the survivors.
Waldman praised Yassky and his colleagues for taking a stand at a time
when the Justice Department is fighting survivors' claims so vigorously.

New York-area survivors and their families can find out more about the
hearing and how to attend by calling 888-381-2889 or visiting
www.hagens-berman.com.

About the Gold Train Case

The Gold Train is one of the most notorious stories of Nazi theft to come
out of World War II. In 1944, the Nazis confiscated the property of
Hungary's Jewish community and loaded it onto a train for plunder. At
war's end, the train was turned over to the U.S. Army for safekeeping and
return to the owners. Instead, the U.S. government lied to survivors and
refused to return their property. In fact, evidence shows, much of the
property was looted by senior military personnel.

The truth was first revealed in a federal government report in 1999. In
2001, Holocaust survivors went to court to seek compensation for their
lost property. The Justice Department has refused to settle with them.

For complete information on the Gold Train suit, including court
documentation, a database of Jewish family heirlooms auctioned off by the
U.S. government, and information for potential plaintiffs, visit
www.hagens-berman.com.

About Hagens Berman

Steve Berman is managing partner of Hagens Berman, a law firm with offices
in Seattle, Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Recently named co-lead
counsel in litigation to recover losses from Enron employees' retirement
funds, Berman is a nationally recognized expert in class action
litigation. Berman represented Washington and 13 other states in lawsuits
against the tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in
the history of litigation. Berman also served as counsel in several other
high-profile cases including the Washington Public Power Supply
litigation, which resulted in a settlement of more than $850 million, and
the $92.5 million settlement of The Boeing Company litigation. Other
notable cases include litigation involving the Exxon Valdez oil spill;
Louisiana Pacific Siding; Morrison Knudsen; Piper Jaffrey; Nordstrom;
Boston Chicken; and Noah's Bagels.

About Cuneo Waldman & Gilbert, LLP

Cuneo Waldman & Gilbert is a law firm based in Washington, D.C. with
offices in New York City. It represents consumers, investors, workers and
businesses in class action cases including white-collar crime, antitrust,
securities, product safety, and privacy rights. Its current litigation
includes helping to represent medical residents in an antitrust case
against the "match" system that allows hospitals to overwork young
doctors; investors who were defrauded by Enron; and homeowners who
purchased defective Entran II heating hoses.

About Dubbin & Kravetz

Dubbin & Kravetz, LLP, which is located in Miami, Florida, concentrates
its practice in the areas of civil, administrative, and regulatory
litigation. Firm principal Samuel J. Dubbin was formerly Special Assistant
to Attorney General Janet Reno and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for
Policy Development in the U.S. Justice Department, and Chief Counsel to
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the
Department of Transportation. In addition to the firm's commercial and
governmental practice, Dubbin & Kravetz currently represents Holocaust
survivors and heirs with claims against major European insurance
companies, as well as a national coalition of Holocaust Survivor
organizations involved with the recovery and allocation of Holocaust
restitution funds. Mr. Dubbin previously served as a member of the Florida
Supreme Court Nominating Commission, and the Florida Transportation
Commission.

CONTACT: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman, +1-206-623-7292, or
steve@...; or Michael Waldman of Cuneo Waldman & Gilbert,
+1-212-698-4504, or cell, +1-347-439-6185, or jonc@...; or Sam
Dubbin of Dubbin & Kravetz, +1-305-357-9004, or sdubbin@...;
or media, Mark Firmani, +1-206-443-9357, or fax, +1-206-443-9365, or
mark@....

(source: Yahoo News)





AUSTRALIA:

Nazis still in Australia: report


Australia continues to harbour Nazi henchmen and other war criminals from
more recent conflicts - possibly even members of Australia's own armed
forces - according to a report in The Bulletin.

The latest issue of magazine documents the failure of successive federal
governments to deal with Nazi war criminals who settled in Australia 50
years ago.

The Bulletin canvases evidence that hundreds, if not thousands, of alleged
Nazi collaborators joined the flood of post-WWII refugees to Australia.

But The Special Investigations Unit, established by the Hawke government
in 1987 to prosecute Nazi war criminals, failed to secure a single
conviction.

"The Australian government knows who they are, where they have lived and
whether they are still alive," the author of The Bulletin article, Paul
Daley, said.

The article says there are growing concerns that a large number of war
criminals from Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia and Latin
America are living in Australia alongside their victims.

The news magazine reveals renewed attempts by the Labor Party to tighten
laws to catch war criminals - including Australians who commit crimes
while serving overseas in the armed services.

Federal Labor member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek will introduce a bill to
parliament in coming weeks to bolster Australia's capacity to investigate
crimes committed by its own troops in foreign conflicts.

(source: AAP)