A retired Israeli rabbi says he holds evidence of secret Nazi-era Swiss bank accounts frozen for nearly a century. His effort to trace them has reopened old wounds — about Swiss neutrality, wartime banking secrecy, and the unfinished business of Holocaust restitution.
A Rabbi’s Relentless Pursuit
Rabbi Ephraim Meir, 72, is not what one might picture when imagining a man chasing billions. A soft-spoken German-Israeli scholar, he divides his time between Torah study and family. But in his weathered leather briefcase, he says, are photocopies of banking records and affidavits that could rewrite a dark financial chapter of European history.
As first reported by Riva Pomerantz, an investigative journalist with Ami Magazine, the documents allegedly trace six numbered Swiss accounts opened in the late 1930s by Nazi affiliates, later expanded by wartime deposits. Meir claims the heirs of one of those account holders legally transferred their rights to him.
His goal, he says, is not personal enrichment but moral restitution: “to turn treif money into something kosher.”
His quest, however, touches a raw nerve in Europe’s financial history — the hidden fortunes of the Nazi era and the question of what justice still requires.
From East German Archives to Swiss Vaults
According to Ami Magazine, Meir’s journey began unexpectedly in 2007 when East German lawyers reached out with a proposition. Their unnamed clients believed they had claims to Nazi-era assets in Swiss banks and needed an Israeli intermediary to pierce what they called a “wall of secrecy.”
At first, Meir hung up. But then came the faxes — account numbers, access codes, and internal notes tracing how small wartime banks were absorbed by larger institutions.
A proposed collaboration with the late Israeli finance minister Yaakov Neeman collapsed over conflicts of interest. Still, Meir pressed on. Israeli intelligence agencies, he says, declined direct involvement but quietly encouraged him to continue.
The UBS Meeting
In March 2009, Meir and German banking lawyer Harald Reichart — an expert in dormant accounts — traveled to Zurich for a meeting with UBS executives. Armed with archival passbooks and identifiers from East German records, they sought not payouts but answers: “Where are these accounts now?”
According to Ami Magazine, a senior UBS lawyer responded that the accounts had been transferred to the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT) — the U.S.-backed body established in the 1990s to manage Holocaust-era restitution claims.
To Meir, this was an extraordinary admission. The CRT, he argues, existed to process claims for victims of the Nazis — not to hold assets belonging to Nazi functionaries themselves.
UBS has said publicly that it has met all legal obligations under international restitution agreements. The Miami Mirror has not independently verified the meeting or the specific accounts described.
Switzerland’s Secret Past
Switzerland’s official neutrality during World War II did not stop its banks from doing business with the Third Reich. Its vaults handled Reich-linked gold, foreign currency, and assets moved across occupied Europe.
The country’s wartime conduct came under renewed fire in the 1990s, when UBS employee Christoph Meili exposed the destruction of Holocaust-era banking records. The outcry led to a $1.25 billion settlement and the creation of the Claims Resolution Tribunal, which reviewed thousands of dormant accounts tied to Holocaust victims.
Meir contends that a later phase of the tribunal — what he calls “CRT-II” — suffered from irregularities, rejected legitimate claims, and buried data that might have pointed to larger sums.
U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman ordered portions of the CRT record sealed until 2070, but left open the possibility of reopening the files if credible new evidence emerges.
The Heir and the Hidden Map
As reported by Ami Magazine, Meir and Reichart eventually traced their research to Detlev Köhler, son of a Nazi-era intelligence officer.
In 2023, Köhler and his sister allegedly met Meir in Zug, Switzerland, and signed documents transferring full ownership of the account rights to him.
That same meeting reportedly produced a revelation: a hand-drawn map discovered inside a hidden desk compartment. It allegedly marks a tunnel near the Buchenwald concentration camp where valuables were buried before the war’s end.
German authorities, Meir says, have approved initial surveys to assess whether excavation is safe.
The Miami Mirror could not independently verify these claims.
The Push for Transparency
Since 2009, Meir says, UBS has refused further meetings. He now proposes a new process — a “third CRT” — to adjudicate dormant Jewish accounts with full transparency and independent oversight.
His attorney, Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik of AEA Justinian Lawyers, argues that UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse consolidates stewardship of decades of merged accounts — and with it, responsibility for clarity.
“They will need to open the books,” Podovsovnik told Ami Magazine.
Meir also plans legal action in U.S. courts to compel discovery and potential asset freezes, alongside diplomatic efforts to pressure Swiss authorities to cooperate.
If Justice Prevails
Should the funds be recovered, Meir says they will be used for religious and humanitarian causes. He has pledged to dedicate 18 Torah scrolls in memory of those killed in the 2008 Merkaz HaRav attack — a tragedy that coincided with his first UBS meeting.
He insists he will continue living modestly, but acknowledges the challenges ahead: proving ownership, tracing account histories through mergers, and convincing courts to reopen decades-old settlements.
For many families still seeking restitution, the issue is less about wealth than about truth — about shining light on money that vanished in Europe’s darkest years.
“Justice Has a Long Memory”
As Ami Magazine observed, Meir’s mission reopens old questions about Switzerland’s neutrality, the morality of secrecy, and the responsibility of financial institutions to history.
“Justice has a long memory,” Meir said. “If the doors won’t open, we’ll knock through the courts.”
Whether those doors lead to forgotten fortunes or to another layer of silence remains to be seen.
Contact for Holocaust-Era Account Claims
Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, LL.M., M.A.S.
Vice President, AEA Justinian Lawyers
📧 office@drlaw.eu | 📞 +43 664 110 3403
Editor’s Note
This article summarizes reporting from Ami Magazine’s “Nazis, Swiss Banks & the Jewish Money That Vanished” (October 1, 2025) by Riva Pomerantz.
All factual claims regarding Rabbi Ephraim Meir, UBS, Credit Suisse, and the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT) are attributed to that publication.
The Miami Mirror has not independently verified sealed or disputed records.
Historical background on the Swiss Banks Holocaust Settlement is publicly available through the Claims Conference and U.S. District Court filings related to the 1998 settlement.
This article is presented for journalistic analysis and commentary under U.S. fair use and international press freedom standards. The Miami Mirror makes no independent allegations of wrongdoing.
