Inside a Class Action: The Holocaust and the Swiss Banks [Hardcover]

Jane Schapiro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2003

    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. Hausfeld wanted to use the suit to prove that the banks not only concealed and refused to return millions of dollars in dormant accounts, but that they acted as a conduit for looted assets and slave labor profits. Such behavior, he charged, violated the code of ethics known as customary international law. On August 12, 1998, the plaintiffs and banks reached a $1.25 billion settlement.
    Through interviews with a wide range of people involved in the case and detailed research of documents and court transcripts, Jane Schapiro shows the ways that egos, personalities, and values clash in such a complex and emotionally charged case. Inside a Class Action provides an insider’s view of a major lawsuit from its inception to its conclusion, which will appeal to anyone interested in human rights, reparations, and international law.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shadowing attorney Michael Hausfeld through almost three years of litigation, Schapiro, a freelance writer and poet, details the progress of the class action suit Holocaust survivors filed against Swiss banks in 1996. The suit accused the banks of hoarding Jewish money, of serving as a channel for Nazi profits from slave labor and for "being accessories to the crime of genocide." The tension of the battle between the plaintiffs and the defendants is almost tangible, as is the passion for justice that motivates Hausfeld, his team and the victims. One survivor, Alice Fisher, expresses a feeling echoed by many others that sheds light on the attitude of survivors toward the suit: "this is not just a material issue; this is a moral issue...This puts the Holocaust on the map against all the denials." Touching letters by victims, legal memos and first-person perspectives help this book create a complete panorama of the case, and a glimpse into the personal lives of the case's personalities make it a fascinating read.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"With a mastery of the legal issues and a keen eye for the human drama, Schapiro has made the intensity of the historic litigation come alive."—Michael Berenbaum, director of the Sigi Ziering Institute and author of The World Must Know

"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, adjunct professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center

"The link between the anesthetized corporate world of banking and the evil of the killing machine known as the Holocaust is a sobering one, and the utilization of the American court system to illuminate that link in an effort to attain justice, however belatedly, is surely of interest."—Frank Tuerkheimer, Robert L. Habush-Bascom Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299193306
• ISBN-13: 978-0299193300
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT READ!!!!! Highly recommended!, November 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside a Class Action: The Holocaust and the Swiss Banks (Hardcover)

Writer Jane Schapiro achieves the seemingly impossible -- Inside a Class Action is a NON-FICTION legal thriller!

Schapiro provides a unique; "behind the scenes" look at the now-famous 1996 lawsuit filed against Swiss banks on behalf of Holocaust survivors. She provides amazing insight into a story that exploded onto the front pages, packed Congressional and Court hearings, and forever changed how the world views the Holocaust.

Schapiro deftly guides the reader through all phases of this litigation, from early discussions to court hearings, private negotiations, and the ultimate settlement. Schapiro did her homework -- having conducted extensive interviews with politicians, attorneys (on both sides), historians, researchers and survivors, as well as having scoured archival documents, court and congressional transcripts, and reviewing reams of news coverage. She relays the good, the bad and the ugly -- providing an unvarnished look at legal infighting, political feuds, and clashing egos.

Schapiro's special access to lead attorney Michael Hausfeld allows her to follow his legal "dream team" as it strips off the cloak of Swiss wartime neutrality and exposes a country and its bankers as economic allies of the Third Reich. Schapiro follows Hausfeld's decisionmaking as the case develops, and addresses important questions: What made Hausfeld take on such a case - pro bono no less? What professional and personal compromises did he make? Why did he choose to settle, rather than going to court? And was this truly a case about justice -- or money? Or both? Inside a Class Action powerfully demonstrates that justice is elusive.

This is one of the most well written, informative and exciting books I have ever read. I highly recommend it.