Disclosure Made That Count Von Spreti Aided in German Reparations for Israel

Count Carl Von Spreti, the West German Ambassador to Guatemala who was murdered by kidnappers a week ago, was one of the prime movers behind the ratification of the Bonn-Israel reparations pact by the Bundestag 17 years ago it was disclosed today by Kurt R. Grossman, a specialist in West German affairs who served for many years as a consultant to the Conference on Jewish Claims Against Germany. As rapporteur of the Foreign Relations Committee on March 18, 1953, he submitted the agreement to his colleagues and delivered an impassioned appeal for ratification. Dr. Grossman recalled that in his speech to the Bundestag, Count Von Spreti, a member of the Christian Democratic Union, characterized the past as the “time of dishonesty” and justified Israel’s claim for reparations in order to pay for the integration of more than 500,000 Jewish victims of Nazism. “Moreover, he did not only appeal to the sense of justice of his colleagues but also to the Arab world, which must understand the decision of the Federal Republic of Germany to conclude the agreement,” Dr. Grossman said. It was ratified by the Bundestag 238-34. Dr. Grossman said that after the vote Count Von Spreti told him. “It was not only our duty to ratify but we did it in the interest of our country and her rehabilitation.”