sharon pucelik : forget about it. the war was 50 years ago--get on it with it. no courts you cannot undo wrong undoings. no courts waste of money

bwana : How do we find the rightful owners?... or do we just rely on the greedy, pushy people who want to enrich themselves? How about payback/reparations for those forgotten families in New England who financed the underground railroad for slaves?

bwana : I live in Boston. Why is there an atrocious holocaust memorial in the primary historical area of this city? It is an ugly abomination; creating guilt where none is deserved. My spouse was in Germany recently and they have smaller memorials there! So, whose property will we greedily seize to repair the damage of the holocaust?

Wyman Brent : It is interesting to see that the above people seem to think that the passage of time allows people and nations to say no to their legal, moral, and ethical requirements. Certainly the country of Lithuania is a prime example. Under Soviet rule, no restitution was allowed by the Russians. Now after 18 years of freedom, the Lithuanian government has done everything within its power to make sure that the Jews receive nothing. So is the fact that the Lithuanian government is waiting for every last Shoah survivor in the world to die the right thing to do? The government here has made laughable, insulting proposals of restitution which cover only a small fraction of that which was stolen. They say it is their policy to never pay full restitution for everything. I guess the government wants a two thirds finders fee because that is what they propose keeping for themselves. The fact is that thousands of Lithuanians participated willingly in the mass murder of thousands upon thousands of Jews. Does that meant that the descendants of these murderers should now be allowed to keep what they stole just because time has passed? As for a Holocaust memorial in Boston, what does that have to to with creating guilt? I am curious as to why Bwana feels guilty upon seeing a memorial to those murdered on another continent and probably at a time before Bwana was born. That would be like someone in Germany putting up a memorial to Native Americans killed. Which is something which could happen considering popularity of American Wild West in Germany. Would Germans then have to feel guilty every time they saw a monument to murdered Native Americans? It is clear that Bwana's heart lies firmly with the anti-Semites. After all, those who want back what rightfully belongs to them are painted as greedy and pushy. Let me state that I am not Jewish and have no financial interest in any settlements. What I do know is that murder and theft does not grow acceptable with the passage of time.

Nath : Theft is theft no matter how long ago it occurred and 60 years is not a long time. Take the Greek Government demanding the return of the Elgin Marbles from Britain.That occurred 200 years ago. Few would deny it rightfully belongs to Greece. Or in Australia where I live, the return of Aboriginal art stolen in the early 1800's.

barbara guillette : One very small item that has escaped everyone's attention for years,, about this holocaust.. the jewish people whom I love,,is that Hitler was Jewish, the jews were exterminated by one of their own... That kind of boggles the mind does't it.? a german jew.. that truly is self hatred on a major scale.He tried to annialate all of the jews that he could. Maybe it was himself who he wished to destroy and finally did. barbara

Dennis L : Why are we calling this the "Holocaust Era Assets Conference"? I was under the impression that the "era" in question is generally referred to as World War II. It wasn't only Jews who died in that "era" you know. It's offensive to label such a global and diverse tragedy as a WORLD War with a banner that is owned and tended by a single group of people. I agree with both bwana's comments above (I've seen the Boston memorial).

lejeune42 : O was reared by a childless aunt and uncle in my native Germany and would have been killed in Sobiborwith them if I had not been whisked away to Belgiumon October 1, 1938 to go to my actyal biological parents. I survived with them in hiding during World War II After the war. I just found that another uncle wrote to the German trustee for the property of my murdered foster parents, that he was the sole survivor . Of course, he was not. Yet, he received along with thehouse of my foster parents all their other assets. It is only last year that i learned of tha when I informed the town where I was rared that I had been there from age 1 to 6 . My incle throughout made never mention of my existence and a booklet on the jewish community published in l982 ignored my existence. it was revised to acknowledge my existence finally last year. So, y unfortynately in this instance a Hew stole the property of another jew under the pretense that he was the only surviving inheritor. It has left bitterfeelings with me . The childless aunt was my own father's sister and the uncle who reared me was the brother of the uncle who alleged being the only surviving relative.