Liechtenstein prince angers Jews by 'mocking' Holocaust to justify banking secrecy laws
Liechtenstein's reigning prince has angered German Jews by invoking the Holocaust to defend his country's banking secrecy laws.
The latest flare-up of fractious relations between the tiny Alpine principality and its much larger neighbor to the north stemmed from comments in a weekend interview Prince Hans-Adam II gave for Liechtenstein's national holiday.
The prince took aim particularly at Germany, which has been pressuring Liechtenstein to clamp down on confidential banking practices that it claims allow wealthy Germans to evade taxes.
'We and Switzerland saved many people, especially Jews, with banking secrecy,' Hans-Adam II told the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt.
'Germany should clean up its own act, and think about its past.'
The prince noted how some Jews were able to buy their safety during the Holocaust by using money they had safely deposited in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
Read entire article at Daily Mail (UK)
The latest flare-up of fractious relations between the tiny Alpine principality and its much larger neighbor to the north stemmed from comments in a weekend interview Prince Hans-Adam II gave for Liechtenstein's national holiday.
The prince took aim particularly at Germany, which has been pressuring Liechtenstein to clamp down on confidential banking practices that it claims allow wealthy Germans to evade taxes.
'We and Switzerland saved many people, especially Jews, with banking secrecy,' Hans-Adam II told the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt.
'Germany should clean up its own act, and think about its past.'
The prince noted how some Jews were able to buy their safety during the Holocaust by using money they had safely deposited in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.