Serrano Praises “Gold Train” Settlement

Washington, DC
, December 22, 2004—Congressman José E. Serrano (D-NY) hailed the recent decision by the government to settle a lawsuit with tens of thousands of Hungarian Holocaust survivors over a trainload of gold, jewelry, and other property seized by the US Army at the end of World War II. 

“I’m so happy that the government has finally come to its senses and is offering some restitution to the Holocaust survivors and their heirs whose property was stolen, first by the Nazis and then by US officers,” said Serrano.  “I’m glad that Congress was able to play a role in pushing the Justice Department to do the right thing.”

The Hungarian “Gold Train” was loaded up with loot stolen by the Nazis from Hungarian Holocaust victims.  The train was seized by US Army officers after the war and its contents were taken and used to furnish homes and offices, sold in army commissaries or kept by US military personnel as trinkets. 

This settlement ends several months of contentious negotiation between the survivors and the Department of Justice, which had initially tried to have the case thrown out of court.  Congressman Serrano, the ranking Democrat on the Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, was able to insert the following language into the conference report that accompanied the omnibus appropriations bill that passed Congress late last month: “The conferees are aware that the parties to Irvin Rosner, et al., v. have agreed to mediation and to the selection of a mediator. Given that this case involves elderly Holocaust survivors, the conferees believe that the Department of Justice should proceed with this mediation in a compassionate and expeditious manner in order to reach a fair resolution.” 

The addition of this report language came after a hearing of the CJS Subcommittee in which Congressman Serrano asked Deputy Attorney General James Comey tough questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the case. 

Soon afterwards, Serrano was praised in a letter from a representative of the Holocaust survivors who wrote that: “The elderly survivors who lost their property to the Hungarian Nazis, only to emigrate here, and then learn that their own government has lied to them and knowingly held their property, have struggled for years without much hope of justice from our government. Your questions [at the hearing] were, as far as we know, the first asked at any congressional hearing on their behalf. We will do our best to let the Holocaust survivors–and the Jewish community generally–know of your leadership on this issue. Again, on behalf of the survivors, we appreciate your support and leadership.”

“I am glad that the Justice Department finally heeded our committee’s call,” said Serrano.  “As a result, the survivors of the Holocaust in finally have some justice.”

A link to Serrano’s July 22, 2004 floor statement in the Congressional Record on the Gold Train can be found here: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?position=all&page=E1510&dbname=2004_record.