Holocaust survivor Hugo Princz has scored a victory in his fight to his fight to win reparations from Germany.
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the 71- year-old New Jersey resident can continue his lawsuit against the three German companies he was forced to work for as a prisoner at Auschwitz.
The German government had filed papers with the appeals court here to block the suit. The court ruled last week that the government had no stake in the case and could not raise objections on the companies’ part.
Princz is seeking $200 million in damages from the three parent companies.
Princz had also tried sue the German government for reparations worth an estimated $5.7 million. He has been denied reparations since World War II because he was technically a U.S. citizen during the Holocaust.
Princz’s attorney, Bill Marks, said he was “thrilled” with the decision. Marks hopes the decision will prod Germany into settling Princz’s claim for reparations. If Princz reaches an agreement with Germany, it may not be necessary to sue, he added.
In January, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on a lower court ruling that Princz could not sue the German government because under U.S. law, private citizens cannot sue foreign governments.
Supporters of Princz on Capital Hill are awaiting the outcome of meetings between German officials and Princz’s attorneys before introducing a bill that would force the Germans to pay the reparations. The bill would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow victims of genocide to sue foreign governments.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
