The Austrian Government has increased its offer of a lump sum settlement of Jewish demands for an heirless Jewish property settlement from 25,000,000 schillings to 120,000,000, it was reported today by a government source. The Jewish delegation, however, still believes that 300,000, 000 schillings is a fair figure for such a settlement.
The Austrian Government is understood to feel that the increased sum it is offering should be used, among other things, to compensate Jews who had to pay special “flight taxes to the Nazis before being permitted to leave the country, and to repay Jews whose bank accounts were confiscated. The Austrian Government does not plan to indemnify victims for such losses, because it insists that the Nazis sent these assets and taxes to Germany and that the Austrian economy did not benefit from them therefore it should not have to make them good. However, it will grant loans up to 10,000 schillings–which need not be repaid–to Jews whose apartments were taken over by the Nazis
The Austrian Government source was optimistic over the favorable atmosphere in which current negotiations are being conducted, and pointed to the agreement on benefits to former Austrian Jews who are now residing abroad as one evidence of progress. It is believed that within the next few days it will become evident whether the parties can reach a compromise on the lump sum settlement.
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.
