The Austrian Parliament today voted unanimous approval of an amendment to the indemnification law which will enable the government here to pay compensation to former Austrian victims of Nazism.
Adoption of the amendment was the last remaining Austrian prerequisite to the approval of a treaty entered recently between Austria and West Germany, under which Germany will pay approximately half the cost of the new indemnification program. The German Parliament, however, has yet to ratify the treaty.
Although West Germany’s contributions to the new program cannot be paid until the treaty is ratified, it was believed possible that Austria may start this week to pay some of the funds, at least to the aged and needy, as a Christmas gesture.
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.
