The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America today lauded the signing by President Clinton of the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act into law.

This law calls on United States government agencies to release information about individuals who committed or participated in Nazi war crimes and to release information held by the United States government regarding stolen assets of the victims of Nazi war crimes.

In light of the many recent revelations regarding past war crime history of world political figures and the vast amount of money and properties looted by the Nazis and held in institutions all over the world, it is crucial that this information become accessible to the public. Important information has been held far too long. Those who would deny our history must not be allowed to continue to conceal information that Americans have the right to know.

Betty Ehrenberg, Director of International Affairs, said, “We are very pleased that President Clinton has signed the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act into law – this is an extremely significant and consequential act of timely legislation. We applaud Senator Moynihan (D-NY), and Congresswoman Caroline Maloney (D-NY) for their hard work in making sure that the world will now be able to know information about Nazi war criminals which has until now remained classified.

This important information will enable us all to learn and teach the lessons of that terrible era fifty years ago which is still reverberating to the present day. This is not only important for those who survived the Holocaust or for historians, but for our children and for prosperity so that generations from now people will know what happened and will not be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.”