Government Assailed in WWII Assets Case

Accusing their government of mishandling the Nazi gold controversy, more than 100 Swiss celebrities and intellectuals joined to demand changes. In their four-page statement, some of Switzerland’s best-known writers, actors, professors and movie producers criticized the government’s responses to claims that Swiss banks still hold $7 billion in assets belonging to Holocaust victims. Jewish groups have also accused Switzerland of laundering gold looted by the Nazis.