Following a communication from Lt. Gen. Geoffrey Keyes, American commander in Austria, Austrian chancellor Leopold Figl today decided not to propose amendment of the national restitution law.
General Keyes informed the Chancellor that the amendment which in part would have compensated holders of Nazi-confiscated property for losses sustained when the property was returned to its rightful owners, was a violation of the London Declaration of 1943. The General also said that the law would react to the detriment of Austrian refugees who have since become American citizens.
The amendment which was proposed by all Austrian Jews would have used the proceeds of heirless Jewish property to “compensate” the holders of Nazi-confiscated property. It would also have expropriated certain categories of Jewish landowners.
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