| President of the Swiss Bankers Association Georg F. Krayer (born May 30, 1943) holds a list of 1,872 inactive accounts dating back to World War II. The list was published in 28 countries, including the United States. The Swiss Bankers Association published the list as advertisements in major newspapers. International Jewish organizations had argued that Swiss banks were holding confiscated money and property taken during the Holocaust. The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, which cross-checked the names on the bank list, found that several of the names also appeared on a list of 334 Nazis or their relatives: Willy Bauer, Thueringen, Germany: Bauer was an alias used by SS-Hauptsturmführer Anton “Toni” Burger (November 19, 1911 – December 25, 1991), an aide to SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann (March 19, 1906 – June 1, 1962) and later Kommandant of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Elisabeth “Lisl” Eder (October 20, 1908 – May 20, 2002), Austria, wife of SS-Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner (October 4, 1903 – October 16, 1946), a major administrator of the Final Solution, who was executed at Nuremberg. Hermann Esser (July 29, 1900 – February 7, 1981), of Munich, Vice President of the Reichstag. Hermann Schmitz (January 1, 1881 – October 8, 1960), of Munich, Chairman of the Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft (“Interest Group Chemical Industry Corporation”) Board of Directors from 1935 to 1945. Heinrich Hoffmann (September 12, 1885 – December 16, 1957) was Adolf Hitler’s official photographer. SS-Standartenführer Karl Jäger (September 20, 1888 – June 22, 1959) Kommandant of Einsatzcommando 3a, a detachment of Einsatzgruppe A. Art dealer Hans Wendland (December 28, 1880 – 1972), a key vendor in looted Jewish art. There were 52 accounts attributed to Americans. There was about 42,000,000 dollars in these accounts, and Swiss Bankers Association wanted the heirs to the victims of the Holocaust to step forward if they saw a name they recognized. A few of the accounts had substantial amounts in them but about 2/3 had 3,500 dollars or less. The list contained the names of all known non-Swiss account holders whose accounts have been dormant since May 9, 1945. The names of 20,000 Swiss dormant accounts was published in October 1997. The World Jewish Congress sued Swiss banks to ensure the dormant accounts were used to compensate Holocaust victims. On November 22, 2000, Swiss banks paid 1 and quarter 1,000,000,000 dollars into a fund that eventually paid 458,400 claimants. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0796.jpg |
| Image Size | 62.29 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 704 x 1000 |
| Photographer | Christoph Ruckstuhl |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 23, 1997 |
| Location | |
| City | Zurich |
| State or Province | Zurich |
| Country | Switzerland |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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