Austria and U.S. Agree on Holocaust Settlement

On January 17, 2001, three days before the end of the Clinton Administration, the Austrian and U.S. negotiators agreed to a settlement of the Holocaust litigation and claims. Stuart Eizenstat, the deputy Treasury secretary, who has headed the compensation negotiations, presided over a settlement in which the Austria Government and private-sector companies agreed to pay $210 million to compensate victims and their heirs for stolen or destroyed property. Already, the Austrians agreed to pay $150 million to pay each Holocaust victim $7,000 for lost apartments and businesses. With interest payments worth $20 million, the total settlement amounts to $380 million…[more]