Austria will soon take measures to aid victims of the Nazi regime in Austria regardless of their citizenship status and regardless of whether they now reside in Austria or abroad, Chancellor Julius Raab declared here today in a nation-wide radio broadcast. He also said that the government would not make distinction between political, religious or racial persecutees.
Admitting that Jews who were forced to flee the Nazis in Austria had suffered great hardship and loss and that something must be done for these “poor devils,” the Chancellor nonetheless hit out against the world Jewish organizations who have been demanding restitution and indemnification Legislation and an heirless Jewish property settlement in behalf of these victims. He characterized the statements of the Jewish claims committee as threats and said the Austrian Government would not be intimidated into making payments which would place an “impossible” burden on the Austrian economy or which would violate the equal rights of all citizens.
Chancellor Raab characterized the demands of the world Jewish organizations–particularly in the early stages of negotiations–as “exaggerated” and insisted that they had not helped the progress of negotiations. He rejected any comparison be-between Germany and Austria in restitution matters, quoting a statement by Israel Premier Moshe Sharett in 1952 to the effect that there is no question of asking the same type of settlement from Austria as was obtained from Germany.
The Chancellor’s statement today came on the heels of a government announcement that it had completed talks with a Jewish group not represented on the claims committee and with an organization representing Christians who had once been Jews and who had been discriminated against by the Nazis on this ground. The announcement denied reports that the government had come to an agreement on restitution with these groups. At the same time, it was announced that the Cabinet will shortly consider the restitution matter again and then would submit drafts to Parliament, and that the contents of these drafts would be made known to the Jewish claims committee.
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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.
