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We Used It When We Had It: The Alien Torts Claims Act - Richard Weisberg
The paper trail of "Jewish money" stolen by European institutions during the Holocaust is a complex and
incomplete story. This lecture highlights how U.S. federal courts helped provide historians with a firmer
factual base and brought some justice to victims of property theft during WWII. Under the Vichy regime,
banks in France seized Jewish assets, and post-war efforts to recover these funds often failed due to
missing records. However, in the 1990s, class action lawsuits like Benisti v. Banque Paribas broke this
deadlock. The U.S. District Court ruled in 2000 that the case could proceed, leading to settlements
compensating victims. Professor Weisberg’s work, including his 1996 book Vichy Law and the Holocaust in
France, played a key role in these lawsuits. This year's Victor Schwartz Lecture will explore the impact of
these cases and why current laws make it harder for Holocaust victims to pursue legal claims today.
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By Cincinnati College of LawThe paper trail of "Jewish money" stolen by European institutions during the Holocaust is a complex and
incomplete story. This lecture highlights how U.S. federal courts helped provide historians with a firmer
factual base and brought some justice to victims of property theft during WWII. Under the Vichy regime,
banks in France seized Jewish assets, and post-war efforts to recover these funds often failed due to
missing records. However, in the 1990s, class action lawsuits like Benisti v. Banque Paribas broke this
deadlock. The U.S. District Court ruled in 2000 that the case could proceed, leading to settlements
compensating victims. Professor Weisberg’s work, including his 1996 book Vichy Law and the Holocaust in
France, played a key role in these lawsuits. This year's Victor Schwartz Lecture will explore the impact of
these cases and why current laws make it harder for Holocaust victims to pursue legal claims today.