As one who served as a senior historical consultant to the President’s Commission on Holocaust Assets, I take issue with William Singer’s remarks in “Key to art Nazis stole may be locked away” (Page 1, Dec. 17) that the commission “had neither the resources nor the time to create” a database documenting looted works of art. It certainly had both.
The commission’s research staff was divided into three entities: gold, non-monetary assets and art. Part of the problem regarding the art team was that it spent so much time chasing its tail on art works carried on the “Hungarian Gold Train” and still couldn’t get the story right. The concept of a database was in the forefront of commission meetings from the start, but the go-ahead was never given.
The commission was a mismanaged operation from the beginning. Another $2.7 million of taxpayer funds is not going to be money spent wisely.
