Germans at Reparations Parley to Contest Israeli Refugee Figures

The German delegation to the reparations negotiations here intends to contest the Israeli claim that over 450,000 Jewish victims of Nazi persecution have been given refuge in the Jewish State, it was indicated here today by a member of the German delegation.

He revealed that the German delegation will claim that not all of the 450,000 were victims of German persecution, but that many of them entered German DP camps at the end of the war, having fled from the East to escape Communism. For this reason, he indicated, the Germans will claim that the figure of 450,000 as set forth by the Israelis in their note of March 12, 1951 to the Big Four Powers, is not valid as far as the Germans are concerned.

It was learned today that the talks on Friday opened in a cold and formal atmosphere, When the Israeli delegates entered the conference room to find the Germans already present, there was no handshaking or any other form of greeting. The Israeli delegation head introduced each member of his group by naming him and, at the same time, pointing to him. Then the Israeli delegation head handed the Germans his credentials.

The Israelis’ opening statement was made in English and at the end of it a copy in German was handed across the table. The German opening statement was made in German with the Israelis receiving an English translation. When the statements were completed the Israelis remained behind for several minutes while the Germans left. The atmosphere was “very tense and uncomfortable as far as we were concerned,” an Israeli spokesman pointed out.

Practically the same procedure was followed by the delegation of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Friday afternoon, except that the tension of the morning session was not present in the afternoon. The Israelis are staying at Waasenaar, while the Germans are at a hotel in the Hague and there is no contact between them when the conference is not in session.