East Germany Has Agreed to Pay Reparations, Bronfman Reports

The German Democratic Republic is prepared to pay a “symbolicsum” of reparations to the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman announced at an East Berlin news conference Tuesday.

Bronfman, who met with the GDR leader Erich Honecker in East Berlin Monday, mentioned no sum.

Bronfman said the details would be worked out between the East German government and the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

It will be the first time East Germany, a Communist bloc country, acknowledges an obligation to Jewish survivors. West Germany did so in 1952, when it negotiated reparations agreements during the administration of Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war chancellor.

The West German government has paid about $45 billion — in today’s rate of exchange — in reparation to Jewish victims of the Holocaust and to the State of Israel.

One of East Germany’s conditions is that the reparations it pays will not go to Jews living in West Germany, but rather to institutions and individuals in the United States, Israel and other countries.

Bronfman, who praised Honecker for his sympathy toward the Jews, said he was convinced that East Germany is trying to preserve the memory of the Jewish communities that existed before World War II, and is committed to the survival of the tiny Jewish community which lives there now.

HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS

In addition to his hour-long conversation with Honecker, Bronfman met with Kurt Loeffler, a vice minister for religious affairs, who is believed to deal directly with the reparations issue.

He also met with Foreign Minister Oskar Fisher, the top official responsible for foreign trade.

The meetings have added credence to recent reports that East Germany is seeking the aid of the World Jewish Congress to help improve its trade relations with the United States.

East Germany would like to receive most-favored-nation trade status, and seeks an invitation for Honecker to visit Washington, which would enhance East Germany’s prestige in the West.

Bronfman told the news conference he saw no reason why Honecker should not be received as a guest in Washington. He supported better trade relations between the two countries.

According to Bronfman, Honecker clearly supports Israel’s right to exist and believes an international conference is the best way to Middle East peace.

East Germany and Israel could very well establish diplomatic relations in the foresecable future, though they have never been “on speaking terms,” Bronfman said.

East Germany’s hostility toward Israel has been manifested by biased reporting and anti-Semitic cartoons in the state-controlled press.

But on Monday, the newspapers carried warm reports of Bronfman’s visit and praised the Jewish leader as a man of peace and friendship.