The economic section of the conference of Big Four deputies today agreed that heirless property in Austria and property which is not claimed within six momths after the signing of the treaty with that country shall be transferred to organizations repressenting the original owners for the rehabilitation of other survivors.
The deputies, who are drafting treaties for Austria and Germany, differed, however, on whether the funds derived from heirless property are to be expended only in Austria or for Jews in other European countries. The United States delegates said that since so few Jews ramain in Austria the money should also be used for Jewish survivors elsswhere. The French, Soviet and British delegates disagreed.
The American delegates also called for inclusion in the Austrian treaty of provisions guaranteeing the restoration of all the legal rights and interests of Jewish property owners and the return of property seized from them during the Nazi regime, despite the condition it may be in.
The other delegates also disagreed with this suggestion, proposing instead that in some cases, “fair compensation” he paid to Jews and other minority groups for losses incurred as a result of their being stripped of their property. Another American proposal would require Austria to seek out and return moveable property taken from Jews.
A U.S. spokerman said that the provisions on which there is still no agreement will be reconsidered, and it is possible that agreement will be reached before the negotiations are transferred to Moscow next month.
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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.
