William H. Tuck, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the International Refugee Organization, today asked the current conference of the Commission to press the Big Powers to make available $12,500,000 of a fund of $25,000,000 derived from German assets which has been pledged for Jewish rehabilitation operations.
The other half of the fund is at present frozen in Sweden and negotiations are in progress for liquidating the Nazi assets and turning the proceeds over to the Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency as reparations. The negotiations are currently tied up in the red tape of national and international currency restrictions.
Tuck also called on countries which were neutral during the war and hold assets of Jews who died hairless as a result of Nazi persecutions to release such property to the central Jewish agencies for the relief of surviving victims. He said that the amounts involved ran into the millions of dollars.
The representative of the member states of the I.R.O. met in closed sessions today to discuss Tuck’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year which provides for the resettlement of some 262,000 DP’s during that period and 416,000 during the following year. An American Jewish Committee representative urged the allocation of more funds for the retraining of displaced Jews.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
