Switzerland and the Crisis of the Dormant Assets and Nazi Gold

Switzerland and the Crisis of the Dormant Assets and Nazi Gold PDF Author: Phillipe Braillard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317722744
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
First Published in 2001. Sharp criticism was recently focused on Switzerland for its doings during World War II and the Swiss banks' policies with respect to dormant assets belonging to victims of the Holocaust, in a process that lasted more than two years, from spring 1996 to fall 1998. Through the determined action of interested parties, the whole process evolved into a violent crisis with an international dimension. This crisis finally came to an end when an overall settlement was reached under which the foremost Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion to the Jewish organisations and Holocaust victims who had taken up legal action before the American courts. The aim of this book is to lay bare the mechanics of this crisis that so violently shook Switzerland and harmed its international image. It endeavours to show how and why organisations and governments heaped attack on Switzerland. The declared and perfectly legitimate cause of the crisis was that of seeing justice for the victims of the Holocaust. Behind that lay a hidden agenda only a closer look can bring to light. The proposals made here open up an important area of discussion as international policymakers seek peace and stability in the post-Cold War world.

Switzerland and the Crisis of the Dormant Assets and Nazi Gold

Switzerland and the Crisis of the Dormant Assets and Nazi Gold PDF Author: Phillipe Braillard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317722744
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
First Published in 2001. Sharp criticism was recently focused on Switzerland for its doings during World War II and the Swiss banks' policies with respect to dormant assets belonging to victims of the Holocaust, in a process that lasted more than two years, from spring 1996 to fall 1998. Through the determined action of interested parties, the whole process evolved into a violent crisis with an international dimension. This crisis finally came to an end when an overall settlement was reached under which the foremost Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion to the Jewish organisations and Holocaust victims who had taken up legal action before the American courts. The aim of this book is to lay bare the mechanics of this crisis that so violently shook Switzerland and harmed its international image. It endeavours to show how and why organisations and governments heaped attack on Switzerland. The declared and perfectly legitimate cause of the crisis was that of seeing justice for the victims of the Holocaust. Behind that lay a hidden agenda only a closer look can bring to light. The proposals made here open up an important area of discussion as international policymakers seek peace and stability in the post-Cold War world.

U.S. and Allied Efforts To Recover and Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II

U.S. and Allied Efforts To Recover and Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II PDF Author: William Z. Slany
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428966528
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description


A Concise History of Switzerland

A Concise History of Switzerland PDF Author: Clive H. Church
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107244196
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
Despite its position at the heart of Europe and its quintessentially European nature, Switzerland's history is often overlooked within the English-speaking world. This comprehensive and engaging history of Switzerland traces the historical and cultural development of this fascinating but neglected European country from the end of the Dark Ages up to the present. The authors focus on the initial Confederacy of the Middle Ages; the religious divisions which threatened it after 1500 and its surprising survival amongst Europe's monarchies; the turmoil following the French Revolution and conquest, which continued until the Federal Constitution of 1848; the testing of the Swiss nation through the late nineteenth century and then two World Wars and the Depression of the 1930s; and the unparalleled economic and social growth and political success of the post-war era. The book concludes with a discussion of the contemporary challenges, often shared with neighbours, that shape the country today.

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland PDF Author: Leo Schelbert
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442233524
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 663

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Book Description
Switzerland's exceptional scenic beauty of valleys, lakes, and mountains, its central location on international trade routes, and its world famous banking system are just a few elements that have contributed to its rise in the global market. It consists of twenty-six member states, called cantons and it’s actively engaged in the maintenance of peace among nations. The history of the Swiss Confederation is as rich and varied as its culture and people. This updated second edition of Historical Dictionary of Switzerland features the nation's multicultural and democratic traditions and institutions, its complex history, and its people's involvement in past and present world affairs. This is done through a list of abbreviations and acronyms, a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, maps, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions, as well as significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone who wants to know more about Switzerland.

Coming Out Swiss

Coming Out Swiss PDF Author: Anne Herrmann
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN: 0299298434
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
Anne Herrmann, a dual citizen born in New York to Swiss parents, offers in Coming Out Swiss a witty, profound, and ultimately universal exploration of identity and community. “Swissness”—even on its native soil a loose confederacy, divided by multiple languages, nationalities, religion, and alpen geography—becomes in the diaspora both nowhere (except in the minds of immigrants and their children) and everywhere, reflected in pervasive clichés. In a work that is part memoir, part history and travelogue, Herrmann explores all our Swiss clichés (chocolate, secret bank accounts, Heidi, Nazi gold, neutrality, mountains, Swiss Family Robinson) and also scrutinizes topics that may surprise (the “invention” of the Alps, the English Colony in Davos, Switzerland’s role during World War II, women students at the University of Zurich in the 1870s). She ponders, as well, marks of Swissness that have lost their identity in the diaspora (Sutter Home, Helvetica, Dadaism) and the enduring Swiss American community of New Glarus, Wisconsin. Coming Out Swiss will appeal not just to the Swiss diaspora but also to those drawn to multi-genre writing that blurs boundaries between the personal and the historical.

Human Rights and Private Wrongs

Human Rights and Private Wrongs PDF Author: Alison Brysk
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415944767
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Oxford Handbook of World War II

The Oxford Handbook of World War II PDF Author: G. Kurt Piehler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199341796
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 721

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Book Description
World War II left virtually no nation or corner of the world untouched, dramatically transforming human life and society. It prompted the unprecedented mobilization of whole societies and witnessed a scale of state-sanctioned violence that staggers the imagination, with more than 100 million casualties. The war resulted in an almost complete collapse of any norms geared toward avoiding the unnecessary loss of civilian life and shaped the worldview and psyches of generations. The Oxford Handbook of World War II broadens traditional narratives of the war and in the process changes our understanding of this epic conflict. Organized both chronologically and thematically and with particular attention to the pre- and post-war eras, the Handbook revises and extends existing scholarship. With chapters on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, the land war in Western Europe, the Battle of Britain, the impact of war on the major combatants (Great Britain, France, the United States, Japan, and China), the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the decision to use the atomic bomb in 1945, and the cultural responses to the war, the chapters span much of the twentieth century. They suggest areas of scholarly consensus, identify interpretative clashes, and propose agendas for further scholarly investigation, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary inquiry. For example, the end of the Cold War had a profound impact on the way World War II was understood. Many formerly closed records in the former Soviet Union and China were opened to scholars, facilitating a more complex view of the Soviet war effort and suggesting that Stalin's army did not simply triumph by overwhelming German forces with sheer numbers but mastered the demands of a vast and logistically demanding front. In conceptualizing the volume, editors Kurt Piehler and Jonathan Grant also sought out contributions on lesser known aspects of the war, such as the Bengal famine in India, the treatment of prisoners of war, the role of Middle Eastern nations, and the activities of non-governmental organizations in ameliorating suffering. Spanning the rise and fall of the Versailles system to the postwar reintegration of veterans and the eventual commemoration of the conflict and its victims, The Oxford Handbook of World War II marks a landmark contribution to the historical literature of war.

Historical Dictionary of World War II

Historical Dictionary of World War II PDF Author: Anne Sharp Wells
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810879441
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 567

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Book Description
This dictionary covers the complex and costly conflict that began when Germany, ruled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, invaded neighboring Poland on 1 September 1939; and concluded when Germany surrendered on 7–9 May 1945, leaving much of the European continent in ruins and its population devastated. The war against Germany, Italy, and the other European Axis members was fought primarily in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, East and North Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Axis powers were defeated by the Allies, led by the “Grand Alliance” of Great Britain, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Historical Dictionary of World War II: The War against Germany and Italy relates the history of this war through a chronology, an introductory essay, maps and photos, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 300 cross-referenced entries on the countries and geographical areas involved in the war, as well as the nations remaining neutral; wartime alliances and conferences; significant civilian and military leaders; and major ground, naval, and air operations. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about World War II.

In Pursuit of German Memory

In Pursuit of German Memory PDF Author: Wulf Kansteiner
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0821416391
Category : Collective memory
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Wulf Kansteiner shows that the interpretations of Germany's past proposed by historians, politicians, and television makers reflect political and generational divisions and an extraordinary concern for Germany's perception abroad.

German Literature on the Middle East

German Literature on the Middle East PDF Author: Nina Berman
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472117513
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
An investigation of Germany and the Middle East through literary sources, in the context of social, economic, and political practices