Bonn Minister of Finance Fritz Schaeffer brought heavy pressure to bear against Otto Kuester, just about the only high-ranking German indemnification official willing to speak out fearlessly for fair and equitable handling of indemnification, it was admitted at a press conference here by Dr. Gebhard Mueller, Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Kuester, who is the former deputy head of the German delegation to the reparations negotiations with Israel at The Hague, was given notice as State Commissioner for Indemnification Questions in Baden-Wuerttemberg a month ago, with the dismissal to become effective at the end of the year. Certain technical reasons were cited as grounds at the time.
In answer to the questions of correspondents, Dr. Mueller now acknowledged that Finance Minister Schaeffer had complained about a speech in which Kuester pointed an accusing finger at the inadequacies and inconsistencies of the Federal Indemnification Law for individual claimants. His ministry would boycott all Federal Council committee meetings at which Kuester represented the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Dr. Schaeffer had notified Kuester’s superior.
Thanks to the ability, integrity and good will demonstrated by Kuester in the seven years he administered the program, Baden-Wuerttemberg has forged to the head of all German states in the proportion of indemnification claims settled, and in the consideration paid to Nazi victims. For reasons such as these, efforts have long been made to unseat him. It is only now, however, that Dr. Schaeffer’s role in the concerted campaign against him has been officially revealed.
Resentment against Kuester goes back to early 1952, when he resigned as deputy chief of the German delegation to the reparations talks and, in radio addresses and newspaper interviews, exposed the steps taken by Minister Schaeffer to prevent the conclusion of an agreement. Observers generally credit Kuester’s gallant stand with alerting Federal Chancellor Adenauer to the likelihood that, without his personal intervention, the bogged-down negotiations might collapse altogether.
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