Holocaust survivor Hugo Princz has won his 40-year battle to win reparations from Germany.
Princz and 10 other Holocaust survivors will share a$2.1 million settlement signed Tuesday in Germany and announced at a Capitol Hill ceremony.
Flanked by his wife, three senators and three congressmen, an emotional Princz, 72, declared victory.
“The settlement today can never bring back my parents and siblings, nor relieve my nightmares of the death camps or the physical pain I still suffer,” he said.
“But it will finally help correct a terrible injustice first committed against me over 50 years ago and compounded ever since as Germany continued to wage war against me.”
Princz, the only survivor believed to be knowingly imprisoned as an American in a death camp by the Germans, had repeatedly been denied reparations.
Germany had argued that Princz was not a “stateless refugee” after the war and therefore was not entitled to any compensation.
When the United States declared war against Germany, Princz and seven members of his family, all American citizens, were living in Slovakia, where they were turned over to the Nazis.
Princz, who later spent three years in Auschwitz, is the only member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust.
Liberated by U.S. forces at the end of the war, he was taken to a U.S. military hospital, bypassing the displaced persons camps. As a result, he was never registered as a Holocaust victim. When he immigrated to the United States soon after, he did not qualify as a “stateless refugee,” according to Germany.
This week’s settlement comes after Princz’s legal battle with Germany had fallen flat. In July 1994, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, dismissed his suit, ruling that foreign governments could not be sued in American courts.
Princz then turned to U.S. lawmakers, where a bill to amend the law against suing foreign governments fell short last year in the final hours of the 103rd Congress.
At the same time, Princz initiated lawsuits against German companies he was forced to work for during the Holocaust, hoping that the companies would pressure their government to settle with him.
Of the other 10 survivors, who were not identified, one lives in Orlando, Fla., and three live in New Jersey.
The money will be divided based on time served in concentration camp, hardships incurred and injuries sustained.
Citing confidentiality agreements, attorneys and State Department officials would not say how much Princz would receive.
In addition to the settlement from the German government, Princz will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from the modern affiliates of four German companies.
In exchange for the settlement, Princz dropped a lawsuit against the companies seeking unspecified damages.
“The Torah says `justice, justice ye shall seek,” Sen, Joseph Lieberman (D- Conn.) told reporters and Princz supporters gathered at the Capitol building on Tuesday.
“Hugo Princz fought for justice justly. I view this on the eve of the High Holidays as a sign of good things to come.”
Echoing the sentiments of many gathered, Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) said, “Today we honor Hugo Princz, not the settlement.”
Reminding the audience that he is leaving the Senate after this term, Bradley said, “When I look back to the things that I was a part of that made a difference, I will think of Hugo Princz.”
Other members of Congress in attendance at the ceremony were: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Bill McCollum (R-Fla.).
Princz, who in the past has criticized the American government for inaction, said he “Feels differently now.”
President Clinton raised Princz’s case with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on at least two occasions and the State Department was instrumental in negotiating the settlement with the 11 Holocaust victims.
The settlement will stay open for about two years for any additional persons who suffered under the Nazis as American citizens.
Anyone wishing to file a claim should contact the State Department Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes, Office of the Legal Adviser, Suite 203, South Building, 2430 E St. N.W., Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20037-2800.
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.
