Jewish Claims Conference Reports Paying $130, 000, 000 in Eleven Years

A total of $130, 000, 000 has been allocated by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany to needy victims of the Nazis in every part of the world during the 11 years of its existence, Jacob Blaustein, senior vice-president of the Claims Conference, reported here last night at the annual meeting of the board of directors.

The last installment of $10, 620, 000 called for by the agreement with West Germany was paid by the Bonn Government in 1964, Mr. Blaustein reported. He said that the Claims Conference will continue its functions until the residual funds have been allocated and until there is fulfillment of all individual claims provided for under the agreement reached with West Germany in 1952 and the enabling laws passed subsequently.

Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the Claims Conference, reported that, in addition to the sums paid to the Israel Government and the Claims Conference, the Bonn Government and the individual states of West Germany paid out adjudicated claims amounting to $4, 130, 844, 000 in restitution and indemnification to individuals through the end of 1964.

The residual fund of the Conference, as of January 1, 1965, stood at $15, 648, 000, it was announced by Moses A. Leavitt, Conference treasurer. He said that $10, 432, 000 of this sum has been turned over to the newly established Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, leaving $5, 216, 000 for special needs not yet met by the Claims Conference.

Noting that the distribution of grants started in 1954, Mr. Blaustein, in presenting his summary of Claims Conference activities, declared: “Eleven years might seem a relatively short period but in the case of the Conference, the activities it has conducted and the accomplishments which have earned it a place in contemporary Jewish history have all been crowded into those 11 years. Today when we look upon Jewish life in countries in western and central Europe, the transformation that has been made seems to challenge all belief.”

BROUGHT REVIVAL OF THE JEWISH SPIRIT IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

In listing the expenditures of the Claims Conference. Mr. Blaustein noted that payments for relief and construction totaled $84, 600, 000. This was administered by the Joint Distribution Committee which supplemented it with $21, 600, 000 of its own funds, bringing the total available for distribution to $106, 200, 000. Payments for cultural and educational reconstruction totaled $19, 450, 000 and commemoration and documentation of the Nazi catastrophe came to $4, 500, 000.

Noting the capital projects inspired by the availability of Claims Conference Funds, Mr. Blaustein said that “scarcely a community of any size exists in countries of western, central and southern Europe formerly under Nazi occupation which cannot show one or more capital projects aided by Conference funds.” These communities, he said, will be equipped for many years to come with basic physical plants essential to their operation. The Conference believes the contribution it has made will prove of lasting value, he said.

“Our contribution to the communities has been of the spirit as well as of stone and brick,” he pointed out. “Their reconstruction has brought with it a revival of the Jewish spirit in country after country, and a closer identification with Jewish life, Jewish values and Jewish spiritual heritage is developing. It is our hope that this spirit will continue to grow and will draw nourishment from Jewish schools and the community and youth centers which have been opening their doors in recent years.”

In his report to the meeting, Mr. Leavitt said that the total sum allocated by the Claims Conference during its last year of full operation was $10, 782, 775, which was distributed as fellows; $8, 340, 161 for relief and rehabilitation; $2, 102, 640 for cultural and educational reconstruction (including $405, 000 for documentation and commemoration projects); $10, 000 for other grants; and $320, 000 for administration and related expenditures.

Noting that the report covered the last in a series of allocations of $10, 000, 000 per year, Mr. Leavitt said that it was “of lasting satisfaction to know that the year 1964 represented far more than just a closing year in our operation. It was an impressive climax to 11 years of Conference activities and solidified the structure of accomplishment which we have been striving to build over the years. It should give joy and pride to us all that we have been privileged to have a share in the performance of these great tasks.”