Judging the Netherlands: the renewed Holocaust restitution process 1997-2000

Product Description
In the last years of the twentieth century, the many shortcomings of the postwar Dutch Holocaust restitution became a major issue in the Dutch public debate. The internationally publicized failures of the Swiss banks regarding dormant bank accounts from the war period prompted investigations elsewhere as well, including in the Netherlands. A further stimulus came when many index cards of the Dutch looting bank LIRO, listing the stolen possessions of individual Jews, were found abandoned in an Amsterdam attic.

Reports of the commissions of inquiry revealed information about monies that had belonged to murdered Jews and were in the possession of the Dutch government, insurance companies, banks, and exchange brokers. Negotiations between these parties and representatives of the Jewish community led to sizable restitution payments. American intervention forced the Amsterdam Stock Exchange - which had been a major collaborator with the German occupiers - to pay tens of times more restitution than it was initially willing to.

This book first gives the historical background of the wartime persecution of the Dutch Jews, their chilly reception in the Netherlands after the war, and the highly problematic postwar restitution process.

The book also focuses on the reports of the various commissions of inquiry in the late 1990s, the development of the negotiations, the reactions in the Jewish community and Dutch society, as well as the emotional impact of the findings on commission members, negotiators, and journalists involved.

The Epilogue describes developments over the past decade since the negotiations were concluded.
About the Author
Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld is chairman of the Board of Fellows of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Gerstenfeld has been an international business strategist for forty years. His background is in chemistry, economics, environmental studies, and Jewish studies.

Gerstenfeld is a former director in an international business consultancy whose other shareholders included four of the world's largest banks. He has worked in twenty countries and his clients have included the boards of several of the world's largest multinational corporations, as well as governments. He has also been a board member of several public companies including a large investment firm.

Gerstenfeld has authored fifteen books and edited five. Books of his have been published in seven languages, including the Italian bestseller Revaluing Italy. His recent book, The Decay: Jews in a Rudderless Netherlands, has sparked a major debate in the country and has had an international impact as well.

Gerstenfeld ha also published articles in leading newspapers and journals in various countries on political, economic, environmental, religious, and historical subjects.