This is an auction for MY MOTHER'S DIAMONDS: IN SEARCH OF THE HOLOCAUST ASSETS, by James Kirby.

Amazon.com reviews:

"For 40 years, until forced into admission in July 1997, Swiss banks denied the existence of accounts opened by Jewish families during World War II as a haven for their savings. Told in the words of the families and lawyer Henry Burnsteyner - who brought the first successful case against the banks - this book focuses on the crimes of omission and commission which contributed to the Holocaust."

"I had heard a lot in the media about the attempts to recover assets taken by the Nazis, particularly Swiss bank accounts. This book focuses on Australian Holocaust survivors, and discusses their efforts to regain all types of property from all over Europe. It makes the important point that it was not just the Swiss and not just bankers who profited from the Nazi atrocities. The narrative is interspersed with stories from people who lived through the war and managed to get to Australia. Any personal account makes history much more compelling, and the stories are well told. The author also makes the point that it isn't always easy to get property back, even with documentary proof--what may have been a factory during the war might now be a housing development with a lot of people living in it, who had nothing to do with the Nazis' seizure of the original property in the 1930s or 1940s. The author certainly makes the case that some compensation is due and maybe long overdue."

More very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Large format (trade) paperback 1998.

212 pages + photographs.

Very good condition.

The cost of shipping is $4.95, or $6.95 by tracked mail. If you are on rural delivery and want tracked mail, the shipping cost will be $9.95.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.