Dormant Swiss Bank Accounts

Tefila

Thu, Jan 20 2005, 4:12 pm

Quote:

Chinnuch does. We are the living memorial! We are still here. Each time we learn Torah, each time we sing a niggun, each time we light Shabbos candles or braid a challah- That says it all. We won- they didn't. We are strong and will rebuild- you were

Beautiful and true sara but do I still want that money..........

ForeverYoung
Guest

Thu, Jan 20 2005, 4:29 pm

don't take it - pass it on

gryp

Thu, Jan 20 2005, 6:59 pm

Quote:

I think a lot of them are a waste of money

well many of them that ive been too were actually very nice. visitors were very serious at them and even crying.

the only place I can imagine giving the money to would be a holocaust museum or Yad Vashem.

zuncompany

Thu, Jan 20 2005, 7:09 pm

RG- I think they look nice. And I see how people cry there. However what happens after they leave? Does it effect them that much that its worth millions and millions (thats what they cost these days)? I don't personally think so. I see so many people who could use the money for every day living, sending their kids to cheder, making weddings, setting up a home... seems such a waste to me.

Sara

Tefila

Thu, Jan 20 2005, 8:43 pm

Quote:

However what happens after they leave?

Got a point. Well if I am supposed to have that money then Hashem will change my mind. Till then, since none of you succeeded the rest is up to Him....
Got me thinking though Very Happy

gryp

Fri, Jan 21 2005, 10:38 am

Quote:

I see so many people who could use the money for every day living, sending their kids to cheder, making weddings, setting up a home... seems such a waste to me.

but then again people have a right to do what they want with their money.

do you think it would be better to turn Auschwitz into a cheder or yeshiva? now it is a memorial, a place people go to see. but if you think money from a memorial should instead be used productively in furthering Jewish life... maybe we should turn whats left of the concentration camps into yeshivas or shuls...??

ForeverYoung
Guest

Fri, Jan 21 2005, 10:45 am

Quote:

now it is a memorial, a place people go to see

with a big cross at the entrance
with polish antesimites as guides

You can't compare - it's a grave, where people were killed.

The money was put there by the Jews who will be happy to know that their children put it to a good use.

they EARNED all that money, through HARD, HONEST labour.
And now you want to throw it out??? Confused

gryp

Fri, Jan 21 2005, 10:54 am

no as I said before, I could see myself giving it to Yad Vashem.

and I still think memorials are not a waste of money, if they are done within reason.

ForeverYoung
Guest

Fri, Jan 21 2005, 10:59 am

I am not agains NOT USING THE $ FOR YOUR SELF - this is your desicion. I am against leaving the $ behind

Anny

Sun, Jan 23 2005, 12:10 pm

Sarahd, what will happen to the Money that was not claimed?

sarahd

Sun, Jan 23 2005, 12:54 pm

That's a bit complicated. The judge in the case will have to make a decision as to what to do with the money. There are quite a number of people who filed valid-seeming claims for accounts, whose accounts have not been found. We're hoping that the judge will decide to give them some sort of compensation. If he decides not to, or if there is still money left after that, so far he has received a suggestion from Judah Gribetz, one of the Special Masters in the case. Gribetz suggested giving the extra money to Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union, on the assumption that they are the survivors most in need. However, the judge has not yet made the final decision, and he'll probably wait till all the claims have been paid to decide.

Pickle Lady

Sun, Jan 23 2005, 3:22 pm

When I first read the first post about returning money from accounts that belonged to jews before the war, I thought great. It was thier money they should have it. Then as the thread progressed I was surprised and some of the womens reactions but they were understandable.

So recently I read an article about the pope and that they were deciding whether or not he should be a saint. Well the thing that made him maybe not be a saint was something he did to the jews during the holocust. He baptised jewish children and after the war would not let them be returned to their surviving jewish family, so that they would live the rest of thier life as xtians. When I read this my first reaction was "Would the parents of these kids have let them be baptised if they would have know that they might never know thier jewish roots or lead a jewish life?" So for that moment I cried. The thought of all those jew neshamas lost. These parents thought they were saving their childrens lives and yes they were saving their bodies but not their souls.

The next thing that came to mind was the commentary about what is writen in the torah that Paroh had the boys thrown in the river, but what happened to the girls? Well they would be forced to assimilate. We learn in the commentaries that what would have happened to the girls was also a horrible thing even though they would be alive in body but their soul would be killed.

Most people when they think of the holocust they think of the the concentration camps were the jews were killed in body but they forget the holocust of the neshamas. Everyday jews are assimilating, jewish woman marrying non-jewish men and the worst jewish man marrying non-jewish women and having non-jewish children. There are so many many jews that have no clue that they are jewish. They don't celebrate shabbos, don't circumsize their boys and don't keep kosher and many times keep non-jewish custioms like a xmas tree.

As religious jews we really don't have the magnitude of the jews that are not at all observant (there are more than you can imagine) The best way we can prevent assimilation is through EDUCATION. Just like sara (zuncompany) said we should be more places of education. Yeshivas and shuls and mikvahs. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks of us, it is what hashem thinks of us that counts. If there were jews in the area near aushwitz I would say yes build a yeshiva there. What better way to memorialize the jews killed in the Holocust then to educated jews in their honor. No I do not think we need another memorial or a statue for the Holocust but we do need more yeshivas or atleast investments in the ones all ready in existence. Sara is right they cost alot of money and we can use the money in better ways.

Sorry for my rant. I have been reading alot about the Holocust latley, so much so that my husband won't let me do it anymore cause it hurts me so much. It hurts me so much because sometimes I feel that their lives were lost in vain since there are so many assimilated jews. Do you know how many times I have spoken to a non-observant jew that has said "my family was religous in Europe before the war".

I also want to say thanks to everyone for making me think. This is such an important topic.

sarahd

Tue, Jun 21 2005, 8:16 am

I am bringing this topic up again, because the deadline for filing claims is in just a few weeks. Please, if you know of anyone who might have a relative who had a Swiss bank account, tell them to check the 2005 list of account owners at www.crt-ii.org and file a claim if they find a relative's name. They only have till July 13.

carrot

Tue, Jul 05 2005, 7:19 pm

money can be a way of showing love and caring. my first thought about this was wow, now people who never knew their parents (or grandparents), or who knew them when they were young but then lost them in this terrible way, can now feel a tangible sign of their love that extends even though they are no longer alive. especially survivors who are now struggling, financially or emotionally, now they can feel in a way cared for by their parents. even though the abandonment and loss they still feel will still exist, and noone can fix that, maybe this small thing can help their present situation a little. and it shows that some shred of justice exists in this world.

so it has nothing to do with the swiss banks. the money comes from jews, like a long lost gift, and the fact that it is available now is due to system of justice that sometimes works.

as I reread what I wrote I realize that that's an odd thought, but whatever...

sarahd

Wed, Jul 06 2005, 4:56 am

Carrot, your thought is not odd at all. In fact, many people who received money have expressed exactly your thought. (Many people who haven't yet received money have also said they want the money for that reason.)