A memorandum charging that Nazi-confiscated property belonging to Austrian Jews is not being returned to them and that Jews returning from concentration camps are being discriminated against by public officials was presented yesterday to the headquarters of Gen. Mark Clark, U.S. representative on the Allied control commission for Austria, by a delegation of the Vienna Jewish Community. The Jews asked the help of American authorities in remedying this situation.
The memorandum, which said that 6,500 Jews are now registered in Vienna, of the 220,000 who resided here before the war, demanded that apartments and businesses belonging to surviving Jews which are still in the hands of Nazis should be returned. It complains that the Austrian Provisional Government has not adopted any legislation providing compensation for Jews, and that fortunes stolen by the Nazis have not even been registered for ultimate return.
The memorandum pointed out that the former Jewish owners of confiscated enterprises who were named temporary administrators of their own businesses immediately after the liberation of Vienna by the Russians, have been removed and the “aryanizers” named by the Germans have been re-installed. It reiterated charges that “aryanized” Jewish theatres have been taken over by the municipality instead of being restored to the owners.
The Jewish community asks American assistance in securing return of Jewish property generally, and help in obtaining from the Government over 100 buildings formerly belonging to the community.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
