The Bundestag, West Germany’s lower house of Parliament, was embroiled today in a dispute over the restitution to be paid to victims of Nazism who could not escape from Iron Curtain countries until after October 1, 1953–the deadline for filing compensation applications under the present laws. Many of those post-1953 refugees are Jews. Jewish organizations, led by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, have been pressing the German Government to amend the old laws so as to treat the post-1953 refugees in the same manner accorded to those able to file applications before the 1953 cut-off date. However, in two Government bills presented to the Bundestag this weekend by Finance Minister Rolf Dahigrun, a flat sum of $150,000,000 would be set aside in restitution payments to the post-1953 group.
Leaders of the Social Democratic party, which is the major Opposition party in Parliament, said they will make every effort to liberalize the Finance Minister’s proposals. The post-1953 group, estimated to total between 50,000 and 150,000 refugees, came here from various countries behind the Iron Curtain, most of them from Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria.
Mr. Dahlgrun appealed to the Bundestag, in presenting his bills on the first reading this weekend, not to go beyond the figures he envisaged, warning that any higher payments would endanger the country’s economy. He insisted that Germany has already paid out in restitution and compensation to victims of Nazism far more than anticipated when the present laws were enacted in 1952.
He was supported “in principle” by Prof. Franz Boehm, one of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party, who told Parliament, however, that the new claims should be studied carefully and not be rejected arbitrarily. Martin Hirsch, another Social Democrat, chairman of his party’s restitution committee, said he will make every effort to liberalize the amendments before they are brought up on second reading.
In addition to fixing a flat sum of $150,000,000 to aid the post-1953 applicants, the Finance Minister proposed in the Government bills: an increase in the amounts of pensions paid to victims of Nazism; less stringent standards of proof needed to claim damage to health caused by Nazi oppression; doubling of compensation for Nazi victims whose professional and academic training was interrupted, from $1,250 to $2,250; and provision of health insurance for persons now receiving compensation and pensions.
In general, the new amendments would speed payments of approved claims by Nazi victims. They would provide for immediate payments of all claims for sums under $10,000, and payments of a large percentage of higher claims by January 1, 1964 and January 1, 1965, with full payment by January 1, 1967. In addition, there would be established a fund of $100,000,000 for settlement of additional claims for confiscated jewelry which the Nazis had melted down into gold.
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.
