A statement of principles governing the grant of its allocations in future years was released today by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The statement, intended as a guide to Conference policies, reflects the experiences gained during the first two years of operations. It reads:
“The Conference has found itself faced with a volume of applications requesting funds considerably in excess of the amounts available for allocation. To meet the situation, the Conference found it necessary to set up a number of priorities and preferences for determining the urgency of need so as to provide more effective aid with the limited funds available, especially in the Jewish communities which suffered most from the Nazi occupation.
“High priority will be given to the needs for relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution residing in communities whose economic resources are insufficient to provide for such needs. The Conference believes that its funds can be employed most fruitfully in providing, expanding or supplementing facilities and services which local effort, unaided, finds it impossible to supply. Conference allocations are granted basically only to established organizations applying on behalf of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution and having a budgetary record of substantial character covering a period of years.
“In order to insure the fullest application of its funds for current and future aid to Nazi victims, Conference allocations cannot be granted to replace local fund-raising efforts, or to repay debts incurred by applicant organizations, or to compensate institutions and individuals for economic damages or personal suffering incurred as a result of Nazi persecution, or to relieve organizations of responsibilities they had borne prior to the establishment of the Claims Conference. These policies are designed to facilitate the implementation of the contractual obligations imposed by the Hague Agreements under which the Conference receives its funds,” the statement concludes.
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.
