Leaders of the American Jewish Committee today submitted to the State Department a memorandum asking Secretary of State George C. Marshall to include in the peace treaties with Germany and Austria a number of clauses which would guarantee the position of the Jews in these countries, the restoration of Jewish property and reparations to Jews for property looted or confiscated under the Nazi regime.
The memorandum was presented by Jacob Blaustain chairman of the executive committee of the American Jewish Committee, Dr. John Slawson, executive vice-president, and J. Benson Sachs of the Washington office of the Committee, who called on Assistant Secretary of State Gen. John H. Hilldring, deputy to Marshall. It emphasized that the peace treaty with Germany must establish the German guilt” for the unprecedented sufferings inflicted upon the Jews from the moment Hitler came to power” and urged the inclusion of the following clauses in both peace pacts:
1. Human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed to all without distinction of race, religion or sex.
2. Freedom of the person, and of expression, religious, political, economic and social.
3. Dissolution of all Nazi or fascist-type organizations and penalties for inciting religious or racial hatred and discrimination, and severe punishment for advocacy of genocide.
4. Full protection to aliens displaced in Germany and Austria as a result of persecution.
5. Property restitution and indemnification to victime of the Nazis. Forced consent to expropriation, and discriminatory legislation under which such expropriation took place, invalidates claim to property by present holders.
6. Where restitution of the original property is impossible, full compensation shall be made to the original owners or to their heirs regardless of where they now live.
7. Heirless and unclaimed property shall be entrusted to relief, emigration, resettlement and reconstruction agencies designated by the Allied powers.
8. All persons removed from their occupations or employment under discriminatory laws, shall be restored to their positions with full seniority rights.
9. Property of the victims of Nazis shall be exempted from reparation and taxes and other measures for the rehabilitation of German economy.
10. The Allied and associated powers are to supervise performance by Germany and Austria of the proposed obligations, and individuals and groups complaining of a breach of their rights shall have the right to appeal to the Allied Control Council or its successor.
Assistant Secretary Hilldring told the American Jewish Committee leaders that the State Department has the greatest sympathy for their proposals. He accompanied them in a brief call on Under Secretary of State Dean Achason, who expressed interest in the memorandum and said that he would study it.
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.
