The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law
The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law explores the challenge posed by the Holocaust to legal and political thought by examining issues raised by the restitution class action suits brought against Swiss banks and German corporations before American federal courts in the 1990s. Although the suits w...
Sábháilte in:
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| Formáid: | Online |
| Teanga: | Béarla |
| Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: |
University of Michigan Press
2025
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| Ábhair: | |
| Rochtain ar líne: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100854 |
| Clibeanna: |
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
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| _version_ | 1869530787652567040 |
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| author | Bilsky, Leora Yedida |
| author_browse | Bilsky, Leora Yedida |
| author_facet | Bilsky, Leora Yedida |
| author_sort | Bilsky, Leora Yedida |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law explores the challenge posed by the Holocaust to legal and political thought by examining issues raised by the restitution class action suits brought against Swiss banks and German corporations before American federal courts in the 1990s. Although the suits were settled for unprecedented amounts of money, the defendants did not formally assume any legal responsibility. Thus, the lawsuits were bitterly criticized by lawyers for betraying justice and by historians for distorting history.
Leora Bilsky argues class action litigation and settlement offer a mode of accountability well suited to addressing the bureaucratic nature of business involvement in atrocities. Prior to these lawsuits, legal treatment of the Holocaust was dominated by criminal law and its individualistic assumptions, consistently failing to relate to the structural aspects of Nazi crimes. Engaging critically with contemporary debates about corporate responsibility for human rights violations and assumptions about “law,” she argues for the need to design processes that make multinational corporations accountable, and examines the implications for transitional justice, the relationship between law and history, and for community and representation in a post-national world. Her novel interpretation of the restitution lawsuits not only adds an important dimension to the study of Holocaust trials, but also makes an innovative contribution to broader and pressing contemporary legal and political debates. In an era when corporations are ever more powerful and international, Bilsky’s arguments will attract attention beyond those interested in the Holocaust and its long shadow. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-158491 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | University of Michigan Press |
| publisherStr | University of Michigan Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1584912025-05-05T04:04:28Z The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law Bilsky, Leora Yedida Holocaust litigation, restitution, corporate accountability, alien tort statute, human rights litigation, class action, law and history, transitional justice, swiss banks, business under the third reich, international critical law, collective memory, historical commissions, holocaust, holocaust studies, legal thought, political thought, lawsuit, class action lawsuit, german corporations, 1990s, settlement, restitution lawsuit, holocaust trials, legal debates, political debates, holocaust reparations litigation, holocaust reparations, criminal law, human rights, law, international law, history, holocaust history, jewish history, political theory, legal theory, THL, transnational holocaust litigation, tort law, corporate responsibility, criminal trials, truth commissions The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law explores the challenge posed by the Holocaust to legal and political thought by examining issues raised by the restitution class action suits brought against Swiss banks and German corporations before American federal courts in the 1990s. Although the suits were settled for unprecedented amounts of money, the defendants did not formally assume any legal responsibility. Thus, the lawsuits were bitterly criticized by lawyers for betraying justice and by historians for distorting history. Leora Bilsky argues class action litigation and settlement offer a mode of accountability well suited to addressing the bureaucratic nature of business involvement in atrocities. Prior to these lawsuits, legal treatment of the Holocaust was dominated by criminal law and its individualistic assumptions, consistently failing to relate to the structural aspects of Nazi crimes. Engaging critically with contemporary debates about corporate responsibility for human rights violations and assumptions about “law,” she argues for the need to design processes that make multinational corporations accountable, and examines the implications for transitional justice, the relationship between law and history, and for community and representation in a post-national world. Her novel interpretation of the restitution lawsuits not only adds an important dimension to the study of Holocaust trials, but also makes an innovative contribution to broader and pressing contemporary legal and political debates. In an era when corporations are ever more powerful and international, Bilsky’s arguments will attract attention beyond those interested in the Holocaust and its long shadow. 2025-04-16T04:08:33Z 2025-04-16T04:08:33Z 2025-04-15T13:41:50Z 2017 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100854 9780472073610 9780472053612 9780472123094 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/158491 eng Law, Meaning, And Violence open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/100854/1/9780472905638.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/100854/1/9780472905638.pdf University of Michigan Press 10.3998/mpub.7719249 10.3998/mpub.7719249 b7359529-e5f7-4510-a59f-d7dafa1d4d17 9780472073610 9780472053612 9780472123094 253 open access |
| spellingShingle | Holocaust litigation, restitution, corporate accountability, alien tort statute, human rights litigation, class action, law and history, transitional justice, swiss banks, business under the third reich, international critical law, collective memory, historical commissions, holocaust, holocaust studies, legal thought, political thought, lawsuit, class action lawsuit, german corporations, 1990s, settlement, restitution lawsuit, holocaust trials, legal debates, political debates, holocaust reparations litigation, holocaust reparations, criminal law, human rights, law, international law, history, holocaust history, jewish history, political theory, legal theory, THL, transnational holocaust litigation, tort law, corporate responsibility, criminal trials, truth commissions Bilsky, Leora Yedida The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law |
| title | The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law |
| title_full | The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law |
| title_fullStr | The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law |
| title_short | The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law |
| title_sort | holocaust corporations and the law |
| topic | Holocaust litigation, restitution, corporate accountability, alien tort statute, human rights litigation, class action, law and history, transitional justice, swiss banks, business under the third reich, international critical law, collective memory, historical commissions, holocaust, holocaust studies, legal thought, political thought, lawsuit, class action lawsuit, german corporations, 1990s, settlement, restitution lawsuit, holocaust trials, legal debates, political debates, holocaust reparations litigation, holocaust reparations, criminal law, human rights, law, international law, history, holocaust history, jewish history, political theory, legal theory, THL, transnational holocaust litigation, tort law, corporate responsibility, criminal trials, truth commissions |
| topic_facet | Holocaust litigation, restitution, corporate accountability, alien tort statute, human rights litigation, class action, law and history, transitional justice, swiss banks, business under the third reich, international critical law, collective memory, historical commissions, holocaust, holocaust studies, legal thought, political thought, lawsuit, class action lawsuit, german corporations, 1990s, settlement, restitution lawsuit, holocaust trials, legal debates, political debates, holocaust reparations litigation, holocaust reparations, criminal law, human rights, law, international law, history, holocaust history, jewish history, political theory, legal theory, THL, transnational holocaust litigation, tort law, corporate responsibility, criminal trials, truth commissions |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100854 |
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