U S court allows Holocaust legal action

NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) A U S appeals court overturned a ruling that had stopped Holocaust survivors from seeking more money from a fund set up by German companies to compensate victims of forced and slave labor in World War Two.

Law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld&Toll said a lower court had yesterday deemed the dispute a political or diplomatic matter out of reach of U S courts, but the 3rd U S Circuit Court of Appeals now ruled that U S legal action could go ahead.

According to the appeals court judgment, Holocaust victims and their families had been prevented from seeking compensation for decades after World War Two by various international agreements and treaties.

But following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a new treaty was signed by Germany, the United States, Britain, France and the former Soviet Union, which was interpreted by German courts as ending the bar on legal action.

In response to the early claims, 17 major German corporations including Allianz, Deutsche Bank, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen established the German Foundation Industrial Initiative to prepare for more claims.

Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld&Toll said Holocaust survivors believe they have been short-changed by the fund and are seeking more money.

''The interest monies collected from the German companies could range to 700 million dollar or more, and will be used to compensate survivors of medical experimentation, forced and slave labor and other Nazi wrongdoing,'' the firm said.

The lawsuit named Allianz, Deutsche Bank, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, BASF, BMW, Commerzbank, Degussa-Huells, Deutz, Dresdner Bank, Fried. Krupp Ag Hoesch Krupp, Hoechst, Rag, Robert Bosch GMBH, Siemens and Veba.

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