Germans Move to Allay Moslem Resentment over Reparations Pact

In a move to allay Moslem resentment over the German-Israel reparations agreement, the German Legation in Karachi, Pakistan, has issued a statement describing the restitution as for “the surviving victims of Nazi crimes and not for the political benefit of Israel.”

The statement, published in the Karachi Times, refers to the “uneasiness about negotiations between Germany and Israel on restitution” and adds that “a genuine and cordial friendship between Germany and the Arabs has always existed. The Federal Government is determined to foster and extend these friendly relations by every means. The motives of the Federal Government in concluding a restitution agreement with Israel can therefore never be sought in any sort of unfriendly attitude towards the Arab States. These motives are based exclusively on a genuine feeling of moral responsibility for the tremendous suffering which was inflicted on the Jewish people by the National Socialist regime.”

It added that “this is made clear without any doubt in the provision of the agreement which states that goods to be purchased by Israel on the basis of German payment should serve exclusively for extension of the possibilities of settlement and rehabilitation of Jewish refugees. Germany will, therefore, supply Israel mainly with consumer goods which will enable Jewish refugees to build up a new existence for themselves. The re-export of those goods to other countries is prohibited under penalty.

“The Federal Government,” the statement concluded, “hopes that the plight of the Arab refugees from Palestine, for which the German people familiar with the refugee problem feel deep sympathy, will be alleviated by appropriate international measures.”