Politician Rejects Holocaust Fund Idea

A leading Swiss industrialist and right-wing politician added to the controversy over a Holocaust fund, saying the Swiss should not apologize for business dealings with the Nazis during World War II. Christoph Blocher, chairman of the Swiss chemicals company EMS Chemie and a member of parliament, said that contributing to a fund for Holocaust survivors would be an admission of guilt. Switzerland has no reason to apologize for doing business with Nazi Germany in order to survive as a neutral country during the war, Blocher said. The nation’s three biggest banks earlier this month established a fund after accusations that Swiss banks hoarded accounts left by Holocaust victims and accepted shipments of gold looted by Nazis.