The USA, Hungarian Jews and Gold

Nice move by the USA -- from Yahoo/Reuters:

US apologizes to Hungarian Jews over 'Gold Train'
The United States on Tuesday apologized to Hungarian Holocaust survivors whose possessions were stolen by U.S. soldiers at the end of World War Two after allied forces seized what became known as the "Gold Train."

Washington has previously reached a $25.5 million settlement with elderly Jews over the trainload of gold, artwork and other property that was plundered by the Nazis and then fell into the hands of the U.S. Army.

Most of the haul was auctioned off to pay for post-war refugee aid programs, and some was requisitioned by U.S. Army personnel for use in offices or kept as trinkets.

In the apology issued by the Department of Justice, the U.S. government acknowledged that U.S. military staff failed to return requisitioned items such as typewriters, Oriental rugs and silver cutlery. It also acknowledged that some property was stolen from a warehouse.

"The United States regrets the improper conduct of certain of its military personnel and seeks in this settlement to provide meaningful assistance to those Hungarian Holocaust survivors still living who qualify as financially needy," the apology read.

And the action was well recieved -- the US could never return everything but they are doing a good measure to help the people who were hurt.

"The settlement is, I believe, in all the circumstances a fair and just one," Edgar Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress, wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"It is both an acknowledgment of the history of what took place as well as an effective means of assisting elderly Hungarian Jewish survivors through the important social welfare projects to be administered by the Claims Conference."

Good news...