An Austrian-Jewish agreement on world Jewish restitution and indemnification demands could have been achieved a long time ago if the Jewish organizations had not started the talks with “exaggerated demands,” Austrian Chancellor Julius Raab told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an exclusive interview.
Asserting that he was very optimistic about the possibilities of still reaching agreement, Chancellor Raab declared Austria was fully aware of the extent of Jewish sufferings under the Nazi regime. But, he continued, Austria cannot overstrain its economic abilities. The government must also consider public opinion on this issue, he said, revealing that threatening letters opposing such a settlement had been received by government figures.
The Chancellor said that he would do his best to arrange for the earliest possible settlement. He also expressed his satisfaction that the Jewish organizations had not taken their protest to the recent meeting of the Big Four Foreign Ministers in Berlin at which the question of an Austrian peace treaty was discussed.
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.
