The Israel Museum announced here today that it has decided to accept a proposal from Axel Springer, West Germany’s most powerful newspaper and magazine publisher, who has offered a large gift for the construction and upkeep of a special building to house a library and archives.
The Museum’s directors, it was learned today, held a secret, very stormy meeting last week on the question of accepting or rejecting the Springer offer. The publisher made his offer here two months ago, when he was in the city on a private visit. He had offered to contribute $500,000. When told that the museum could not accept the offer because the cost of maintenance for such a new building would be beyond the museum’s resources, Mr. Springer doubled the amount, earmarking $500,000 for maintenance.
The dispute in the board, it was learned, centered on whether Mr. Springer might have a Nazi past. The board voted by 9 to 3 to accept the Springer offer after an investigation showed that the publisher had no connections with the Nazis. However, even among those who voted with the majority, some members of the board were reluctant to have the new building named after Mr. Springer.
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