When Austrian Chancellor Leopold Figl visited Great Britain and the United States recently, he was approached by Jewish groups in both countries with a request that the Austrian Government make a lump sum payment to Austrian Jews instead of setting up a fund from the proceeds of heirless and communal Jewish property, it was learned here today.
The Vienna Jewish Community, although not officially notified of the approaches to Chancellor Figl, approes of the lump sum payment proposals, it was also learned. The Austrian Jews believe that thus they would get the benefits of such a sum in the immediate future, while the heirless property fund will probably be many years in the establishment and eat up a large proportion of the funds.
The British Jewish groups are said to have asked a sum between 150,000,000 and 200,000,000 schillings, while the Americans suggested $10,000,000. The Austrian Jews are said to favor the $10,000,000 figure.
Meanwhile, Dr. Emil Maurer, president of the Vienna Jewish Community, who has just returned from Paris, reported that while there he received a promise from the Joint Distribution Committee that the community would receive 1,600,000 schillings from the J.D.C. in 1952, a sum sufficient to cover the costs of its welfare program.
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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.
