The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) has written to the West German Embassy in Canada complaining of certain pending legislation to furnish restitution to Jewish victims of Nazism. The complaint is based on the report that the restitution “is encumbered by an attempt to restore person rights of former civil servants who were disqualified from receiving pensions because of their Nazi past.” The debate on the proposal is scheduled in the West German Bundestog by March 31.
It is difficult to comprehend,” says the letter signed by Alon Rose, CJC executive vice president, “why the long delay in enacting reparations legislation which it was agreed to introduce into the Bundestag during the incumbency of Chancellor (Willy) Brandt should be threatened by coupling the fate of the victims of Nazism with former members of the NSDAP, the SS and concentration camp guards. We believe that if such a development transpires, it will seriously undermine the moral aspect of material restitution which was an essential element of the policies of Chancellor (Konrad) Adenauer and Brandi and other leaders of the Federal Republic.”
The letter continues: “We would be grateful if you would convey our sense of concern to your government. May I add that the Canadian Jewish Congress fully supports the payment of material restitution to European Gypsies, many of whom were murdered and sterilized during the Nazi era. We believe that such an act would be welcomed by all Canadians.”
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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.
