-Caveat Lector- September 24, 1998 German firms that used slaves to be sued FRANKFURT, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Lawyers acting for slave labourers who worked at German companies during the Nazi period are planning to sue 10 German companies for compensation in U.S. courts next week, a Munich-based lawyer said on Thursday. The names of the companies included in the legal action will be made public next week, Michael Witti told Reuters, calling on both the companies involved and the Confederation of German Industry (BDI) to enter discussions with the lawyers. "Any firms who try to find a solution without us are making unnecessary problems for themselves. The subject of forced labour will not be cleared from the table that easily," he said. No indication was given of the amount of money that will be sought in the court case. This latest legal action comes one month after a U.S. class action lawsuit, brought by Witti and U.S. lawyer Ed Fagan, seeking damages for survivors who were among some two million people forced to work in Nazi factories between 1933 and 1945. The class action suit named many top German companies, including Siemens AG Volkswagen AG, Daimler-Benz AG, BMW AG and Henkel. Witti said that an announcement on Wednesday by Siemens that it planned to set up a 20 million mark fund to compensate slave labourers was merely an attempt at an easy solution. "The plaintiffs see this move as an attempt by the firm to get out of the problem as cheaply as possible and the suit will continue," he said. He called on Siemens to open up its archives to help clarify the extent to which slave labour was used at the company during the Nazi period. The establishment of the fund by Siemens AG follows the announcement earlier this month by Europe's biggest car maker Volkswagen AG that it, too, would set up a 20 million mark fund. Siemens has previously acknowledged using slave labour, but it has not agreed to most appeals for compensation, saying the German government is the legal successor to Adolf Hitler's Third Reich and has already paid such claims. Heinrich von Pierer, chief executive of Siemens, has gone on the record saying that the group has a "moral responsibility" into this case, and has voluntarily given "several millions of marks" to the Jewish Claims Conference. The movement to win compensation for former slave labourers, concentration camp prisoners and others persecuted by the Nazis has gained momentum since Swiss banks agreed to a $1.25 billion settlement in August. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
