Jewish Claims Conference Distributed $6,000,000 in Reparations Funds

Nearly $6,000,000 in West German reparations funds has been distributed by the Jewish Material Claims Conference Against Germany during he past six years, Saul Kagan, secretary of the Claims Conference, reported today. He spoke at the 14th annual session of the overseas directors of the Joint Distribution committee.

He said that $5,993,800 had been distributed to aid victims of Nazi persecution. He appealed to the leaders of the European Jewish communities to intensify their efforts to become self-supporting in preparation for the time, five years from now, when compensation from West Germany will end. Claims Conference money for Nazi victims in the 25 countries where the JDC operates is administered by this organization and becomes part of a common fund known as JDC-Claims Conference Funds.

Mr. Kagan, dealing in his report mainly with Jewish communities in Western Europe where 75 percent of Claims Conference money is distributed, stressed that the Claims Conference regarded the development and re-building of the Jewish communities of Europe which bore the brunt of Nazi brutality as one of its principal objectives.

He said the efforts of the Claims Conference, in cooperation with the JDC and central community organizations in each country, had contributed greatly to the revitalization of Jewish communities in Europe. He reported that in western and central Europe capital grants have been contributed to build or re-model more than 200 Jewish institutions, including youth centers, homes for the aged, kindergartens, hospitals and clinics. The session was presided over by Moses A. Leavitt, JDC executive vice-chairman and treasurer of the Claims Conference.