In German we say: "Kurz und bündig!" Short but sharply to the point!
Here it is: The following item appeared in the Letters column in the June 10th issue of The Economist.
The Economist
111 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
__________________
Sir - In your review of Elazar Barkan's book, "The Guilt of Nations" ("Blanket Apology", May 27th), you write that the author's "Detailed account of the stonewalling and bureaucratic obfuscation of the Swiss banks in particular, and of their wholesale confiscation of dormant Jewish accounts, makes dismal reading".
The recent Volcker report came to exactly the opposite conclusion; that there has been no confiscation - wholesale or otherwise - of dormant accounts of Jews or anyone else by Swiss banks.
Moreover, of the millions of non-active accounts investigated, few can be linked demonstrably to victims of the Holocaust.
The vast majority of Holocaust-related accounts were duly claimed at the end of the war or were uncovered between 1962 and 1972 in a Swiss-initiated investigation.
The myth of Swiss banks having grown fat at the expense of Holocaust victims does not stand alone. It is not widely known that between September and December 1942 - the crucial months when the "final solution" was implemented in occupied Europe - 96% of the Jewish assylum-seekers who presented themselves at the border gained admittance into neutral Switzerland.
Jean-Christian Lambelet
Lausanne, Switzerland
So there you have it. Is anyone surprised that "anti-Semitism" in Switzerland is growing?
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Thought for the Day:
"When you see green leaves on most trees you tend to think of trees as green."
(Letter to the Zundelsite)