The West German Government today approved the drafts of the reparations agreements reached at the Hague by the West German delegation and the world Jewish and Israeli delegations, it was announced here today. A government spokesman stated that West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett in Luxemburg tomorrow to sign the German-Israeli pact.
The Germans have agreed to pay Israel $715, 000, 000 in reparations for material damages suffered by the Jews and $107,000,000 to settle the global claims of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The payments will be made to Israel in the form of goods and the Israel Government will reimburse the Conference for its share.
West German Parliamentary circles here are of the opinion that the establishment of diplomatic and economic relations with Israel are necessary to guarantee the realization of reparations payments and have expressed the hope that such relations will be established. (A dispatch from Bonn in the London Times today says “Chancellor Adenauer and his government hope that apart from the contribution to the economic recovery of Israel, the agreements will bridge a reconciliation between Germany and world Jewry and will be accepted as symbolic of the righting of a great wrong.”)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.