Jerman Officials Flouting U.S. Rules on Allocation of Homes, Businesses to Persecutees

Although official U.S. military government policy ## to give persecutees preference in obtaining homes and businesses, the German-controlled and German-staffed bureaus handling such matters frequently flout the regulations leaving the persecutee with little recourse, according to information obtained ##ere today.

A spokesman for the MG’s and Property Control Branch admitted that German Agencies often fail to carry out the directives handed down to them. “But you must remember,” he continued, “that official American policy has constantly been the steady return of power to German governments.”

The effect of placing control in the hands of the Germans, he added, is “that of a German housing agency or another bureau fails to grant housing priority to persecutees, as provided by the Military Government, the persecutee must appeal first through several German departments and then finally to the Military Government. Naturally, this is a long and often costly process.”

Clarifying recently publicized directives, the spokesman pointed out that while one of them orders the return of property to “cleared Nazis,” it does not necessarily mean that the former Nazis also obtain occupancy. Housing priority categories still erist, with persecutees topping the list and cleared Nazis at the bottom. Therefore, the Nazis may collect rent, but may not live in the house, according to the law. However, it is at this point that the German agency makes the decisions and where the violations occur. The same ruling applies to business, which even cleared Germans, are not supposed to be allowed to run.

The spokesman stressed the shortage of American personnel, with the resulting dependency on the Germans, plus the constantly increasing powers being given the Germans.