Inside a class action

INSIDE A CLASS ACTION

INSIDE

A CLASS ACTION

THE HOLOCAUST AND

THE SWISS BANKS

JANE SCHAPIRO

    

 

The University of Wisconsin Press

1930 Monroe Street

Madison, Wisconsin 53711

www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/

3 Henrietta Street

London WC2E 8LU, England

Copyright © 2003

The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

All rights reserved

13542

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schapiro, Jane.

Inside a class action : the Holocaust and the Swiss banks / Jane Schapiro.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-299-19330-6 (cloth: alk. paper)

1. Trials—New York (N.Y.). 2. Class actions—New York (N.Y.).

3. Unjust enrichment—United States. 4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945).

5. Banks and banking, Swiss. I. Title.

KF228.H65 S52 2003

347.73´53—dc21 2003005663

Terrace Books, a division of the University of Wisconsin Press,

takes its name from the Memorial Union Terrace, located

at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Since its inception in 1907,

the Wisconsin Union has provided a venue for students, faculty, staff,

and alumni to debate art, music, politics, and the issues of the day.

It is a place where theater, music, drama, dance, outdoor activities,

and major speakers are made available to the campus and the community.

To learn more about the Union, visit www.union.wisc.edu.

For my father,

who believed in the value of this story,

For my mother,

who believed that I could write it,

and for Scott,

whose encouragement allowed me

to believe in both.

Here and there people wanted to know everything about

all aspects of what we so poorly call the Holocaust. Yet,

somehow its simple economic aspect seems to have been

utterly neglected.

Why? Is it that we all felt the memory of the tragedy to

be so sacred that we preferred not to talk about its con￾crete, financial, and material implications? Is it that the

task of protecting the memory was so noble, so painful,

and so urgent that we simply felt it undignified to think of

anything else—and surely not of bank accounts? In truth,

we feel reticent to talk about it even now.

—Elie Wiesel, Washington Conference on

Holocaust-Era Assets, November 30, 1998

ix

Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 3

1 Winds of Truth 7

2 Looking Back 27

3 Plaintiffs Speak 52

4 The Devil’s Bridge 72

5 An Uneasy Alliance 86

6 A Rough Calculation 106

7 Arguments and Motions 127

8 The Hearing 147

9 Stucki’s Ghost 168

10 A Victims’ Fund 187

11 A Separate Peace 205

12 Money Dance 218

13 An Accounting 233

14 The Reckoning 252

Epilogue 261

Postscript 271

Notes 275

For Further Reading 285

Index 287

xi

Acknowledgments

The Swiss banks case is a mixture of stories that can be understood

from many different vantage points. Each perspective offers truth as

well as prejudice, and hence all are imperfect and incomplete. This

book is based upon my observations, interviews, and research since

1996, when the first class action against the Swiss banks was filed. I at￾tended court hearings, Senate and House Banking Committee hearings,

press conferences, and meetings and spoke to sources on all sides of the

case. I received broad access to information from Michael Hausfeld,

one of the lead counsel for the plaintiffs. In addition to documents,

notes, and my own personal observations, I have drawn upon more than

thirty hours of privately taped interviews with Hausfeld, as well as our

numerous phone calls and meetings. He never asked to read or censor

my writing. Because I was allowed to shadow Hausfeld, I was privy to

the myriad emotions that he experienced throughout this case, and thus

this story reflects his own particular journey through this class action.

In an effort to get a fuller perspective, I interviewed more than forty

other individuals, many of whom wished not to be named. They were

enormously helpful and provided sources for meetings that took place. I

also traveled to Switzerland and interviewed Swiss bankers, lawyers,

and a Jewish leader who were intimately involved in the events. There

were some individuals who did not wish to meet with me. Attempts to

speak with several attorneys, officials, and Jewish leaders were rebuffed

or ignored. To compensate, I took advantage of the continuing media

coverage of the case. I followed the coverage in the New York Times, the

Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the multitude of Jewish jour￾nals. I also drew upon the transcripts from court and congressional

hearings, as well as other books and articles related to the subject.

In addition to Michael Hausfeld, there are several other individuals

who proved vital in my ability to grasp this story. Miriam Kleiman was

always available to answer my questions or lead me to documents and

sources that could provide me with the answers. I am deeply indebted to

her. I thank Susan Bollen for her patience with me. I appeared in front

of her desk daily, asking for documents and memos. I am appreciative of

all of the people who granted me interviews and offered their particular

perspectives. I am particularly indebted to one individual who asked to

remain anonymous. He met with me many times in an effort to help me

understand the nonplaintiffs’ perspective. He also helped me recon￾struct meetings in which negotiations took place. The archivist Greg

Bradsher broadened my understanding of what was occurring at the

National Archives and of how the story was literally unfolding through

documents.

Aside from those who helped me to attain the story, there are numer￾ous people who gave me encouragement in the writing of it. Ellen Op￾penheim read the manuscript’s many versions and critiqued and com￾mented on each one. She was an essential part of the writing process. I

am also fortunate to come from a family of writers and readers. My sis￾ters, Barbara and Ellen Schapiro, both read and offered suggestions on

the manuscript, as did my parents, Nancy and Ed. Barbara helped me

through the marketing stage, as well. She was always positive and opti￾mistic, both necessary ingredients in getting through the long haul of

completing a book. I thank Al Lefcowitz, of the Writers’ Center, for re￾minding me again and again to stay in the “active voice,” Naomi Thiers

for keeping my writing grounded, David Hendin for his experienced

wisdom, Arial Goldberger for her editorial comments, and Raphael

Kadushin, at the University of Wisconsin Press. I also want to thank my

friends Debi Leekoff, whose company on walks gave me respite from the

isolation of the computer, and Linda White, who provided me with a

place to stay during my many trips to New York. And, last, I want to

thank Scott, Naomi, Tamara, and Eliana for their unquestioning pa￾tience. They never once complained about the piles of papers covering

the living room floor.

Thank you.

xii Acknowledgments

INSIDE A CLASS ACTION