Irving M. Engel, honorary president of the American Jewish Committee, left today for West Germany to participate in a conference in Bad Godesberg, near Bonn, which will take up–among other issues–the question of education of German youth. The question was discussed several months ago by Dr. John Slawson, AJC executive vice president, with a number of West German government, educational and political leaders during a visit to Germany.
Mr. Engel is a member of a delegation of 24 leading Americans who will take part in the four-day conference with West Germany government future of American-German relations. Included in the delegation are John J. McCloy, former U.S. High Commissioner of Germany, Governor Robert D. Meyner of New Jersey, former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Dr. James Conant, former U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain, a number of members of both houses of the U.S. Congress, and other prominent Americans.
Earlier this year, Zacharish Shuster, head of the European office of the American Jewish Committee, met with the then West German President Theodor Heuss on the subject of providing an education of Germany’s youth to inculcate within them a spirit of respect for all men regardless of race and religion.
President Heuss gave his assurances to the Committee that he would call a conference of ministers of education to consider the problem of anti-Semitism in Germany as “one of the chief subjects of its deliberations.” He further stated that the matter should be dealt with directly through the education of the German youth.
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