The planned opening of the International Red Cross archive in Germany to Holocaust survivors and their families has prompted them to request that an Italian insurance giant lift a Jan. 15 settlement deadline.
On that date the survivors may either accept their insurance settlement for Holocaust-era claims against Assicurazioni Generali or opt out of the offer.
The archive contains more than 50 million Nazi files and is scheduled to be open to families and researchers after a formal ratification process by the 11 nations that control it.
Klara Firestone, president of Second Generation of Los Angeles, has requested Manhattan Federal Judge George Daniels to postpone the deadline until survivors and their descendants can access the records in the archives to “properly document any potential claims.”
Anat Bar-Cohen, a daughter of two survivors, said appeals have also been sent to members of Congress, relevant officials and Generali asking for an extension of the deadline and “speedy access to the archives.”
Sam Dubbin, a lawyer representing survivors, said that so far there has been “no indication” that Generali will agree to the extension request.
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