Dr. Franz Boehm, who headed the West German delegation which negotiated the German-Israel reparations treaty, was honored on his 70th birthday yesterday at a reception tendered by the Israel Mission in Cologne.
Dr. Felix Shinnar, head of the mission, described Dr. Boehm as one of the “righteous” to whom Jews pay their high respects. He said Prof. Boehm did much as head of the reparations team and that as a member of the Bundestag, the West German Parliamentary lower house and as assistant chairman of the Bundestag indemnification committee, he had shown deep understanding of the problems of the victims of Nazism.
Dr. Shinnar added that 70 trees had been planted in Dr. Boehm’s honor in the Martyrs Wood in Israel. He then read special birthday greetings sent by Israel Premier Levi Eshkol, Foreign Minister Mrs. Golda Meir and former Premier David Ben-Gurion. Among participants in the reception were Cologne Mayor Theo Burauen, Vice-Chancellor Viktor Westrick and other West German leaders. The event was also a farewell reception for Dr. Shinnar as he ends his duties in Cologne and returns to Israel soon.
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