Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, was received last night by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer for a discussion of issues in pending legislation to complete West German indemnification and restitution laws for victims of the Nazi era.
Prior to the meeting, Dr. Goldmann met with Dr. Rolf Dahlgren, the new West German Finance Minister, for a talk on details of the pending legislation. The Finance Minister reportedly promised that the drafting of the needed legislation would be expedited and the bills submitted to the West German Parliament before the summer recess. The delays in the legislation have been criticized by Jewish leaders.
One of the principal changes sought in the laws would be elimination of an October 1, 1953 cut off date which barred Jewish victims still in Iron Curtain countries on that date from receiving any compensation. Dr. Goldmann is expected to report on the results of his German talks at a meeting of the Claims Conference to be convened in New York next Sunday.
Approximately 20,000,000,000 marks ($5,000,000,000) have been paid out to victims of Nazism under existing legislation, with another 10,000,000,000 marks ($2,500,000,000) still to be paid.
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.