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Jewish Delegation Discusses Restitution of Property with Czechoslovak President

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A seven-man Jewish delegation which called on President. Eduard Benes during the week-end were told that the process of restering Nazi-confiscated property to its rightful owners will proceed at top speed, although in specific cases errors may occur. The delegation called in reference to the case of Emil Beer, a Jewish industrialist, whose plant was recently confiscated by the government.

Benes expressed sympathy for the Jews’ offorts in pressing for further legal action in instances where they differed with governmental decisions which he said, were adopted under the pressure of an abnormal situation. He also pledged support of their attempts to abtain legal redress. Discrimination against any minority was impossible under the present government, Benes declared.

The delegation told the President that they were in sympathy with the government’s aims in nationalizing industry and large-scale land holdings. However, they expressed fears of a miscarriage of justice in the Beer case and in the nationalization of small farms owned by Jews. They also urged that the restitution law which now applies in Bohemia and Moravia be extended to include Slovakia.

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