The list will be published in newspapers in 28 countries

Swiss Banks to Publish List of Accounts Held by Holocaust Victims

The list will also be available on the Internet. The address is www.dormantaccounts.ch
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The list covers names and details of Swiss bank accounts opened by foreigners before 1945, when the Second World War ended, and who have not been heard from for at least ten years. In October, a second list will be published of dormant accounts opened by Swiss residents before 1945 who may have acted as proxies to hide the assets of Jews and others threatened by the Nazis.

By publishing the list, Swiss Banks are breaking their tradition of secrecy

Swiss bankers said the total in the accounts was believed to be about 60 million Swiss francs. Last year, the total was put at 43 million Swiss francs.

The announcement follows more than a year of often bitter negotiations between Swiss banks and the World Jewish Congress. The WJC has accused the banks of withholding substantial sums of money left in the banks by the victims of the Nazis. Separately, the WJC has also charged that Swiss banks laundered gold looted by the Nazis.

A spokesman for the Swiss Bankers Association said the list would appear in papers "in countries around the world where there are populations of Jews who may be account holders or their heirs."

In Britain, the list will be published in The Times, which said it would cover more than three pages. Other papers include The New York Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Jerusalem Post, Pravda and Izvestia.

Greville Janner: "For many, it is now too late"

Greville Janner talks to the BBC about the Swiss Bankers move

The publication of the list was welcomed by Greville Janner of the Holocaust Educational Trust, who is a former Labour MP. "At last the banks are taking appropriate steps to trace the owners of these accounts," Mr Janner said. He added that if the banks had begun the search immediately after the war, "they would have saved years of suffering for thousands of people. For many, it is now too late."