Alderman Albrecht, head of the Vienna Housing Office, answering Jewish charges, today claimed it was untrue that he had told Jewish delegations that Jews should live in barracks for the homeless. He maintained that the Housing Office considers the restitution of dwellings to Nazi victims a point of honor, but that it is unable to make a distinction between Jews and non-Jews.
Albrecht, in an interview given to the semi-official press agency, claimed that there is no legal basis for restoring dwellings to the former owners and explained that his office allots vacant apartments in aryanized dwellings only to Jews. He said that the 1,000 Jews who have filed applications for homes can be accommodated only after destroyed and damaged houses have been rebuilt.
(In a letter to the New York Times today, Dr. L. Kleinwachter, representative of the Austrian Government in the U.S., reviewed his government’s attempt to return Jewish property seized by the Nazis to its former owners. In attempting to answer criticism of Austria’s restitution efforts, he asserted that a “Third Restitution Law” is in the process of being drafted and is still subject to consideration.
The Austrian diplomat also declared that all heirless property will be pooled in one central fund and then all the victims of Nazism will be indemnified from it. Admitting that “Jewish property is expected to contribute the greatest share to this fund,” he maintained that “Jewish claimants will have to be considered first and in due percentage.”)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
