West German Chancellor Dr. Konrad Adenauer revealed in an article today that one of the reasons he was able to escape from the hands of the Nazis while hiding during 1933-1945 was “because of the help given me by Germans of the Jewish race.”
The article is published in the American Weekly, a Sunday supplement to numerous American newspapers. “Since I became Chancellor of the Federal Republic, there has been no mistaking my feelings of Germany’s debt to Judaism and Israel, “Dr. Adenauer stresses. He describes his meeting with Israel’s Premier David Ben-Gurion for the first time, when both statesmen visited New York, as a “deeply moving” event.
Commenting on the restitution which Germany is now paying to Israel and Jews, Dr. Adenauer says: “I know that money can’t revive millions of Jews who have been killed, but I also know that what is needed now for those surviving is money. And one should not forget that this money that we are paying in restitution–comes from the German taxpayers who are not Nazis and whose majority has never been Nazi, Rich and poor alike, they are offering part of their earnings each week to clear the German name.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
