The American Federation of Labor today urged the Trade Union Council in Vienna to press the Austrian Government for payment of compensation for heirless property left by Jews annihilated by the Nazis in Austria.
A letter to this effect was sent by George Meany, AFL president to Johann Bohem, president of the Austrian Trade Union Council. The American labor leader thanked the Austrian labor movement for taking action against “the reversal of the original policies of Chancellor Raab in his negotiations with the Jewish organizations on heirless property claims.”
“We feel that the heirless property claims are the central theme in such negotiations and must be carried out as originally planned if those who suffered from Nazi persecution are to be justly compensated,” Mr. Meany wrote. “It is our hope that the Austrian labor movement will continue, both in Parliament and through its press, to manifest its solidarity with those who have been oppressed by the Austrian Nazis and by their military allies from Nazi Germany.
“As you know, the free German labor movement was responsible for the successful ratification of the reparations pact in behalf of the victims of Nazi persecution. It is our hope that Austrian labor will give the same inspired lead in these negotiations,” Mr. Meany emphasized.
Sending a copy of the letter to Adolph Held, chairman of the Jewish Labor Committee, who is a member of the Committee on Jewish Claims on Austria, Mr. Meany said he hoped his communication to Mr. Bohem “will encourage the Austrian Trade Union Council to continue to assist the victims of Nazi oppression in Austria.”
The communication by Mr. Meany is considered to be of importance in view of the fact that the Austrian Trade Union Council plays a significant role in that country. Labor members of the Austrian Parliament have taken the lead in opposing the government’s recent suspension of negotiations, and have championed the original agreement reached by the Austrian government and the Committee on Jewish Claims with heirless property as part of the agenda.
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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.
