Liechtenstein to probe its role in WWII past

The panel is directed by Peter Geiger, a Swiss historian living in Liechtenstein. It includes two Israelis, David Bankier and Dan Michman.

Along with creating the commission, officials in Liechtenstein have launched a Holocaust education program.

In an interview, Ernst Walch, the foreign minister of Liechtenstein, said the commission is his highest priority.

"Liechtenstein is looking forward to conducting this historical investigation in close cooperation with the World Jewish Congress, and of course any advice and support it may have is very much appreciated," Walch said.

WJC officials were irritated by the delay in creating the commission and were displeased that no WJC representative was included in the advisory committee.

Walch admitted that there had been some "communications problems" in dealing with the WJC and vowed to work to improve relations with the group.

More than five years ago, the WJC spearheaded an international campaign to convince Switzerland to confront its wartime record.

To confront allegations that Switzerland helped Nazi Germany launder gold it looted from Jews and from the banks of countries overrun by the Third Reich, Swiss officials created an international panel of historians in December 1996 to study the country's wartime past.

In May 1998, the commission issued a report concluding that Swiss central bank officials knew during the war that they were buying looted gold from Nazi Germany, but the officials turned a blind eye and went ahead with "business as usual."

For more JTA stories, go to http://www.jta.org