Inside a Class Action: The Holocaust and the Swiss Banks

by Jane Schapiro

Overview

On October 21, 1996, attorney Michael Hausfeld, with a team of lawyers, filed a class-action complaint against Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank Corporation, and Credit Suisse on behalf of Holocaust victims. The suit accused the banks of, among other things, acting as the chief financiers for Nazi Germany. On August 12, 1998, the plaintiffs and banks reached a $1.25 billion settlement.             Through detailed research, court transcripts, and interviews with politicians, attorneys, historians, and survivors, Jane Schapiro shows how egos, personalities, and values clashed in this complex and emotionally charged case. Inside a Class Action provides an insider's view of a major lawsuit from its inception to its conclusion and will appeal to anyone interested in human rights, reparations, and international law.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780299193331
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	11/01/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	484 KB

About the Author

Jane Schapiro is the author of a volume of poetry, Tapping This Stone, and a chapbook, Mrs. Cave's House. Her essays and poems have appeared in publications such as The American Book Review, The American Scholar, Prairie Schooner, The Southern Review, The Sun, and Yankee. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Winds of Truth 2 Looking Back 3 Plaintiffs Speak 4 The Devil’s Bridge 5 An Uneasy Alliance 6 A Rough Calculation 7 Arguments and Motions 8 The Hearing 9 Stucki’s Ghost 10 A Victims’ Fund 11 A Separate Peace 12 Money Dance 13 An Accounting 14 The Reckoning Epilogue Postscript Notes For Further Reading Index

Editorial Reviews

"A must read for anybody interested in the details of how a group of dogged individuals uncovered the truth involving Swiss banks and the Holocaust."—Kenneth R. Feinberg, Georgetown University Law Center

"In her fascinating and moving book . . . Jane Schapiro, who attended the court hearings, Senate and House Banking Committee hearings and press conferences, provides a well-documented account of the litigation itself. Her first-hand knowledge of these lawsuits is masterful."—Barbara S. Cohen, Jewish Book World

From the Publisher