Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany said here Friday that he expects a “slim majority” in favor of eliminating the statute of limitations on the prosecution of Nazi war criminals when the Bundestag (parliament) votes on the issue this week. Schmidt made his forecast at a 45-minute meeting with a delegation of the American Jewish Committee. The press was barred from the meeting but was briefed afterwards by Richard Maass, AJCommittee president and Rita E. Hauser, chairperson of its foreign affairs commission.
According to Maass, the meeting with Schmidt was a follow-up to a similar meeting that the AJCommittee group had with him in Bonn last April at which time he assured the group of his support of the extension of the statute of limitation’s effective date. The statute, which sets a deadline for the prosecution of Nazi criminals not yet apprehended is due to expire on December 31. Ms. Hauser said that the German leader, expressed the view that if SALTLI is not ratified, the Soviet Union will “close the doors” on Jewish emigration and the world will slip back to a state of cold war .According to Houser Schmidt also told the Jewish leaders he preferred “quiet diplomacy, ” concerning the emigration of Soviet Jews. “One should not make open demands on the Russians for emigration, “the German Chancellor was quoted as saying.
According to Maass, other issues discussed with Schmidt were the situation of Iranian Jewry, the current energy crisis, and exchange of intellectuals between Germany and the AJCommittee. No further details on these topics were provided.
After the private meeting between Schmidt and the AJC delegation, the German leader was presented with a lithograph by the artist Chaim Gross. In presenting the gift to Schmidt, Maass declared that “many new and positive relationships” are developing between the German people and Jews throughout the world. Maass added; “Ways must be found to reinforce and deepen those relationships. Not only Americans but also as Jews, we are deeply affected by what happens in your country for in sense all Jews living today are survivors of the Holocaust .Together we must strengthen those forces which can immunize the youth of the world against the poison of anti-Semitism and racism.”
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.
