Publisher's Synopsis
Here, the US official who spearheaded the fight to reclaim the stolen and confiscated assets of the Jewish victims of World War II tells the inside story of the fight and how it was won. During his service in four senior positions in the Clintion Administration, Eizenstat was thrust into the epicentre of a remarkable historical event: providing justice, a belated and imperfect justice, but justice nonetheless, for the victims of World War II.;50 years after the end of World War II, the Holocaust had become a political and diplomatic battleground. The issues of dormant bank accounts, slave labour, confiscated property, looted art and unpaid insurance policies convulsed Europe and America. Eizenstat encouraged a score of countries, ranging from Argentina to Switzerland and the United States to Lithuania, to create truth commissions to review their role in the World War II.;He held often heated negotiations with the Swiss, the Germans, the French and the Austrians to help assure the restitution of property in Europe. It was a mission that went to the heart of one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century, exposing wounds that had never healed and conflicts that had never been properly resolved. Eizenstat's account shows that it is still possible to take positive steps in the service of justice.
