The Supreme Restitution Court, consisting of German and Western judges under the chairmanship of a Swedish judge, ruled this week-end that pensions seized by the Nazi regime from Jewish executives in private industry must be returned by the West German Government.
The ruling came on a plea by Mrs. Clara Birnholz of Putnam Valley, New York, who claimed pension benefits due her late husband, Dr. James Birnholz who retired in 1932 as an executive of Allgemeine Elektricitaets Gesellschaft, a leading German electrical equipment firm. His pension was halted when he fled Germany in 1939 and in 1942 the firm was ordered to pay the Nazi Government the capitalized value of his pension.
The Supreme Restitution Court ruled that Mrs. Birnholz was entitled to pension payments worth approximately $4,900 plus 25 percent interest on claims for five and one-quarter years from 1940 on. The private firm had resumed payments in 1950 until Dr. Birnholz’ death in 1956. The widow made no claim on the company.
However, the ruling said that the company was obligated to continue the payments for the years not covered by the restitution decision (between 1945 and 1950). Mrs. Birnholz said that she and her husband had been pressing the claim for 18 years. It is believed that there are many persons now living in the United States who would benefit from the restitution court’s decision.
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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.
