Adenauer and Goldmann Disguss Resumption of Reparations Talks

Official German circles today indicated that Chancellor Konrad Adenauer had invited Dr. Nahum Goldmann, presiding officer of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, to come to Bonn where a concrete proposal on the reparations demanded by Israel and by the Jewish groups represented by the Conference will be presented to him by the West German Government.

The meeting between Chancellor Adenauer and Dr. Goldmann was scheduled for today, with a view to bringing about resumption of the German-Israeli reparations talks at The Hague on June 19, as originally scheduled. The Israeli delegation indicated recently in London that the talks will be resumed only after the members of the delegation have studied the new German offer and found it acceptable as a basis for negotiations.

An official publication of the Bonn Government. “The Bulletin,” today stated that “not only our moral duty but also the economic situation of Israel demands that the settlement of our debts in London shall not impair the settlement of the Jewish claims.” The publication said that only foreign trade surpluses can be used to settle Germany’s foreign debts since the country has neither assets abroad nor currency revenues at home.

The coordinating council of the Associations of Christians and Jews of Germany today appealed to the Bonn Government to make every effort to bring the German negotiations with Israel and the Jewish organizations of the world to a successful conclusion. The message to the government asked that “in this decisive hour” care be taken that the reparations negotiations “be crowned by an agreement which restores the honor of the German name abroad and leaves no doubt as to the seriousness of the German desire to make reparations.”