Leaders of German Delegation to Hague Reparations Talks Resign

Declaring that “under the present circumstances a satisfactory solution of the German-Israeli reparations problem is impossible.” Prof. Franz Boehm, head of the West German delegation to The Hague reparations talks, today announced officially his resignation from that post.

Dr. Boehm, who is a professor at the University of Frankfurt, charged in a statement that he had met “insurmountable” resistance to settling the problem among those Bonn officials responsible for issuing instructions to the delegations at The Hague and at the London conference of Germany’s pre-war creditor nations.

Prof. Boehm insisted that the belief expressed among Germans that fulfillment of the Israel claims is beyond Germany’s abilities, is wrong. He said that it was impossible for him to carry out the instructions which he had received for continuation of The Hague talks with Israel and with the delegation of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Otto Kuester, Prof. Boehm’s deputy on the delegation, who resigned yesterday, today commented that his action had not been taken because of the attitude of Hermann Abs, head of the German delegation to the London talks, but because of the “intransigeant” attitude of the Bonn officials who had put the German delegation to The Hague “in an embarrassing position.”

It was learned that Prof. Boehm had sent his resignation to West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on Sunday, but that the resignation had only arrived in Bonn yesterday. It was reported here today that the German delegation head had stated at The Hague last March 25 that if he were not firmly convinced of the sincere desire of his government to make amends to the Jews he would not have accepted his post.