Foreign Claims Settlement Commission - Nara
| Tracking # |
RD 65006 NGC22-009A RF-519 |
| Submitted | Jan. 26, 2021 |
| Due | April 29, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: William Fernandes
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
This is an EFOIA request please communicate and produce records via email, .pdf format for attachment is preferred.
Per the enclosed correspondence we are seeking the following:
' For the program for claims against Germany…Claim Numbers: G-3220, G-3273, G-3282, G-0100. Please produce the affidavits of injuries and written statements resulting in payments or denials of claims under the program for Germany.” for the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
'Mr. Fernandes,
This is in reply to your email under the Freedom of Information Act received on January 15, 2021, requesting “the affidavits of injuries and written statements resulting in payments or denials of claims under the 2008 Program for Claims against Libya for claim numbers: LIB-I-002, LIB-I-040, LIB-I-034. For the program for claims against Germany…Claim Numbers: G-3220, G-3273, G-3282, G-0100. Please produce the affidavits of injuries and written statements resulting in payments or denials of claims under the program for Germany.”
Attached please find the requested documents from the Libya claim files LIB-I-002, LIB-I-040, and LIB-I-034. Unfortunately, the Commission is no longer in custody of the files associated with the claims in its German claims program; they are now housed at the National Archives. If you wish to review the files or make copies of the actual documents contained therein, you will need to contact www.NARA.gov and follow their procedures.
If you are not satisfied with Foreign Claims Settlement Commission’s determination in response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, 441 G Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's FOIA STAR portal by creating an account on the following website: https://foiastar.doj.gov. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."
Jeremy R. LaFrancois
Chief Administrative Counsel
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
US Department of Justice
441 G Street, N.W., Room 6330
Washington, D.C. 20579
Phone (202) 616-6975
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
William Fernandes
From:
This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.
We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.
If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.
Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Thank you.
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear William Fernandes,
This is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act request, dated January
26, 2021 for German claims files G-3220, G-3273, G-3282, and G-0100. Your
request was received in this office on January 27, 2020 and assigned the
case number 21-15142.
Based on the information available on the Foreign Claims Settlement
Commission website
<https://www.justice.gov/fcsc/claims-against-german-democratic-republic-lead-decisions>,
it appears that the claims you requested relate to the German Democratic
Republic (East Germany). These files are likely to be in the following
series:
*Record Group 299: Records of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of
the United States, 1915 - 1999*
East Germany Claims Files, 1/1/1978 - 1990?
<https://catalog.archives.gov/id/74616967>
Entry UD-17W 1
Box 4: Claims GDR-0091 to GDR-0125
Box 121: Claims GDR-3202 to GDR-3228
Box 123: Claims GDR-3263 to GDR-3295
The numbering scheme used in our finding aid is slightly different from the
numbering scheme you provided (our finding aids list a GDR- prefix rather
than G-); however, the information on the FCSC site leads us to believe
that these are the same records you are seeking. If, however, the claims
files you seek are not related to East Germany, please let us know.
The East Germany Claims Files are fully restricted. Since these records
need to be reviewed for categories of information exempted from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), we are transferring your
request to the Special Access and FOIA staff for further action. The
Special Access and FOIA staff will be in contact about the status of your
request.
We do not consider this a denial of your FOIA request. However, if you are
not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for appeal and
dispute resolution are outlined in the attachment. If you have any
questions, you may reach us at archives2reference@nara.gov.
This completes the processing of your request.
Sincerely,
David Castillo
Archives Specialist
Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)
National Archives at College Park, MD
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear William Fernandes,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act request for records in the
custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, we are not able to process FOIA requests according to
our normal procedures. We have assigned your request (for files G-0100,
G-3220, G-3273, G-3282) the temporary tracking number RF-519. When we
resume normal operations, we will log requests into our system in the order
they were received. At that time, we will provide you with a new FOIA
tracking number and a more substantive response. We apologize for this
inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Sincerely,
Brigitte Flynn
Special Access & FOIA Program
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 26, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.
We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.
If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.
Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Thank you.
From:
This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.
We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.
If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.
Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Thank you.
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear William Fernandes,
I am writing in response to your request for an updated status on the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request received by this office for
records in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not able to provide status updates for
FOIA requests. Once normal operating procedures resume, we will provide you
with a response to your status update request. We apologize for this
inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience. More
information about the National Archives' response to coronavirus can be
found at archives.gov/coronavirus.
Please note, we will not respond to status update requests more than once
every six months.
Sincerely,
Jason Mincey
Special Access and FOIA Program
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 26, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.
We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.
If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.
Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Thank you.
From:
This is an automated reply to inform you that the National Archives and Records Administration received your email.
We have received your request and will respond within 20 working days. Please note that submitting duplicate requests will increase wait times.
If you have any questions, you can call our office at 301-837-3190. You can also visit our web page at www.archives.gov/research/foia.
Notice to NARA Researchers and FOIA Requesters
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference or FOIA request or appeal. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Thank you.
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear Mr. Fernandes:
I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
of January 26, 2021 for records in the custody of the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA). Your request was initially answered by a
NARA staff member from the Textual Reference Archives II Branch who
forwarded your request to this office for a response. Your request was
received in this office on February 2, 2021 and assigned FOIA tracking
number RD 65006, interim tracking number RF-519.
Below please find a summary of my initial assessment of the following East
Germany Claims Files created by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of
the United States that you requested access to:
- file number G-0100 with the claim of Johanna Elsa Rost and Dr. Herbert
Rost as the subject of the records created between July 1975 and May 1990,
and consisting of 75 pages.
- file number G-3220 with the claim of Rita Kestenbaum, Eleonore S.
Rothschild, Jules M. Bier, and Siegfried F. Bier as the subject of the
records created between May 1978 and July 1990, and consisting of an
estimated 100 pages.
- file number G-3273 with the claim of Rita Kestenbaum, Eleonore S.
Rothschild, Jules M. Bier, and Siegfried F. Bier as the subject of the
records created between May 1978 and July 1990, and consisting of 53 pages.
- file number G-3282 with the claim of Rita Kestenbaum, Eleonore S.
Rothschild, Jules M. Bier, and Siegfried F. Bier as the subject of the
records created between May 1978 and July 1990, and consisting of 45 pages.
These records require review for information protected from release under
the FOIA (https://www.archives.gov/foia/foia-guide#determine).
Your request does not exceed 700 pages, so it is assigned to our first-tier
processing queue. Taking into consideration our existing backlog, we
estimate it will take 39 months to complete processing.
Once we notify you that processing is complete, you may either visit our
College Park, MD facility to view the file at no cost, or order a
reproduction. Our current fee for reproductions is 80 cents per page, so we
estimate the total cost will be $218.40.
You must notify this office of changes to your contact information. If
communication is returned as undeliverable and no return address is
provided, your case will be administratively closed. To change your contact
information or to track the status of your request, please email
specialaccess_foia@nara.gov or call 301-837-3190. Please include your FOIA
tracking number in all communications concerning this request.
If you are not satisfied with our action on this request and would like the
opportunity to discuss our response, you may contact our FOIA Public
Liaison for assistance:
Accessioned Executive Branch Records – Washington, DC Area
FOIA Requester Service Center: 301-837-3190
FOIA Public Liaison: Rebecca Calcagno
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3190
If you have other questions regarding your request, please contact me
directly.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Coon
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Program (RF)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-1604
From: William Fernandes
Dear Stephanie:
Thanks so much for your response. This was an EFOIA request. I wanted to ask for a fee waiver for the duplication costs as paper copies are not necessary and as a member of the news media, the FOIA production would be shared in perpetuity on the websites www.muckrock.com and www.documentcloud.com. If more information is required to ascertain news media status and affirm a fee waiver please advise.
Best,
William
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear William Fernandes:
I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
of January 26, 2021, for records in the custody of the National Archives
and Records Administration. Your request was received in this office on
February 2, 2021, and assigned FOIA tracking number 65006, interim tracking
number RF-519. You also requested a waiver for reproduction fees ordinarily
charged to researchers.
Records transferred to the custody of the National Archives are exempt from
the fee and fee waiver provisions of the Freedom of Information Act because
a fee schedule was in effect prior to enactment. The applicable section
states that “nothing in this subparagraph shall supersede fees chargeable
under a statute specifically providing for setting the level of fees for
particular types of records” (5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(A)(vi)). The relevant fee
statute authorizes the National Archives “to charge a fee for making or
authenticating copies or reproductions of materials transferred to the
Archivist’s custody.” (44 U.S.C. 2116(c)). The inability to grant the
requested fee waiver does not constitute a denial under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act.
If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, you have the
right to file an administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days
from the date of this letter. Appeals must be in writing and may be
delivered by regular U.S. mail or by email. By filing an appeal, you
preserve your rights under the Freedom of Information Act and present the
deciding agency with an opportunity to review your request and reconsider
its decision. If you submit your appeal by regular mail, it should be
addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States (ND), National
Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 4200, College
Park, Maryland 20740-6001. Both the letter and envelope should be clearly
marked “FOIA Appeal.” If you submit your appeal by email, please send it to
foia@nara.gov, addressed to the Deputy Archivist, with the words “FOIA
Appeal” in the subject line. Please be certain to explain why you believe
this response does not meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information
Act. All communications concerning this request should reference your FOIA
tracking number.
If you would like the opportunity to discuss our response and attempt to
resolve your dispute without initiating the appeals process, you may
contact our FOIA Public Liaison for assistance:
Accessioned Executive Branch Records – Washington, DC Area
FOIA Requester Service Center: 301-837-3190
FOIA Public Liaison: Rebecca Calcagno
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3190
If you are unable to resolve your dispute through our Public Liaison, the
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is the federal FOIA
ombudsman. OGIS offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between
FOIA requesters and federal agencies. You may contact OGIS at the following
address:
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2510
College Park, MD 20740-6001
202-741-5770
1-877-684-6448 (toll-free)
Sincerely,
Stephanie Coon
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Program (RF)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-1604
From: William Fernandes
Failure to acknowledge news media request and status.
I've already published a large document set about this project.
From: William Fernandes
Stephanie
Did you make an error here. I noticed nara does do fee waivers and I've already published a large document set about this story.
Reference document for nara attached.
William
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear William Fernandes:
I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
of January 26, 2021, for records in the custody of the National Archives
and Records Administration. Your request was received in this office on
February 2, 2021, and assigned FOIA tracking number 65006, interim tracking
number RF-519. You also requested a waiver for reproduction fees ordinarily
charged to researchers.
Records transferred to the custody of the National Archives are exempt from
the fee and fee waiver provisions of the Freedom of Information Act because
a fee schedule was in effect prior to enactment. The applicable section
states that “nothing in this subparagraph shall supersede fees chargeable
under a statute specifically providing for setting the level of fees for
particular types of records” (5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(A)(vi)). The relevant fee
statute authorizes the National Archives “to charge a fee for making or
authenticating copies or reproductions of materials transferred to the
Archivist’s custody.” (44 U.S.C. 2116(c)). The inability to grant the
requested fee waiver does not constitute a denial under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act.
If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, you have the
right to file an administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days
from the date of this letter. Appeals must be in writing and may be
delivered by regular U.S. mail or by email. By filing an appeal, you
preserve your rights under the Freedom of Information Act and present the
deciding agency with an opportunity to review your request and reconsider
its decision. If you submit your appeal by regular mail, it should be
addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States (ND), National
Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 4200, College
Park, Maryland 20740-6001. Both the letter and envelope should be clearly
marked “FOIA Appeal.” If you submit your appeal by email, please send it to
foia@nara.gov, addressed to the Deputy Archivist, with the words “FOIA
Appeal” in the subject line. Please be certain to explain why you believe
this response does not meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information
Act. All communications concerning this request should reference your FOIA
tracking number.
If you would like the opportunity to discuss our response and attempt to
resolve your dispute without initiating the appeals process, you may
contact our FOIA Public Liaison for assistance:
Accessioned Executive Branch Records – Washington, DC Area
FOIA Requester Service Center: 301-837-3190
FOIA Public Liaison: Rebecca Calcagno
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3190
If you are unable to resolve your dispute through our Public Liaison, the
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is the federal FOIA
ombudsman. OGIS offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between
FOIA requesters and federal agencies. You may contact OGIS at the following
address:
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2510
College Park, MD 20740-6001
202-741-5770
1-877-684-6448 (toll-free)
Sincerely,
Stephanie Coon
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Program (RF)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-1604
From: William Fernandes
To: NARA Appeals, Deputy Archivist foia@nara.gov
Subject: FOIA APPEAL, FOIA tracking number 65006, interim tracking
number RF-519
Notice of Appeal
I wanted to appeal the fee determination and respectfully petition your offices to release digital copies of the records to myself via Muckrock.com for online viewing to the general public . The documents will also be published via the DocumentCloud.com platform.
The United States has determined that increased efforts in transparency are important citing: https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s337/BILLS-114s337enr.xml
The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission in a very prompt very professional fashion released related records to this research project on redress of injuries as shown here:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/redress-of-injuries-106226/
Cross-published to Document Cloud here:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20465734-lib-i-034_redactedpdf
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20465735-lib1-0021pdf
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20465738-lib-i-0402pdf
Please reconsider the fees in the interest of transparency.
Thank you,
William Fernandes
*****
Agency Appeal Instructions
*****
If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, you have the
right to file an administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days
from the date of this letter. Appeals must be in writing and may be
delivered by regular U.S. mail or by email. By filing an appeal, you
preserve your rights under the Freedom of Information Act and present the
deciding agency with an opportunity to review your request and reconsider
its decision. If you submit your appeal by regular mail, it should be
addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States (ND), National
Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 4200, College
Park, Maryland 20740-6001. Both the letter and envelope should be clearly
marked “FOIA Appeal.” If you submit your appeal by email, please send it to
foia@nara.gov, addressed to the Deputy Archivist, with the words “FOIA
Appeal” in the subject line.
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
October 21, 2021
Dear Mr. Fernandes:
Please see the attached letter in acknowledgment of your appeal.
Sincerely,
The NGC FOIA Team
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD
foia@nara.gov
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear Mr. Fernandes,
Please see the attached response letter signed by the Deputy Archivist in
response your FOIA appeal assigned NGC22-009A.
Sincerely,
Jodi L. Foor
Deputy Freedom of Information Act Officer/Archivist
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of General Counsel
College Park, MD
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 26, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #NGC22-009A.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear Mr. Fernandes:
We sent you the response to your appeal NGC22-009A on October 27, 2021.
Another copy of the response letter is attached.
Please turn off the automated status update requests by MuckRock for this
appeal.
Sincerely,
Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001
susan.gillett@nara.gov
From: William Fernandes
Thanks Susan. My apologies. I have turned off the auto follow-ups.
Happy Holidays!
From: National Archives And Records Administration – Archival Or Special Access
Dear William Fernandes:
Please see the attached letter in final response to the above mentioned
FOIA request.
Sincerely,
--
James R. Mathis
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Program (RF)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
(301) 837-0288
From: William Fernandes
Hey James:
Thanks so much for working on this. In my inital request I asked if you could produce the records in 'digital format'...go green save a tree, and postage..etc' Would you 'reconsider' and possibly waive the feeds on this ? I did another project related to this and the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission did not charge fees. You can review the production here:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/redress-of-injuries-106226/
Thanks in advance for the consideration.
William
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