A memorandum containing fifteen provisions for inclusion in the Austrian peace treaty and which suggests more stringent safeguards for Jewish rights than those included in the Rumanian, Hungarian and Bulgarian treaties has been forwarded to the Big Four foreign ministers’ deputies by the World Jewish Congress, it was reported here today.
The political clauses offered in the memorandum would guarantee human rights, outlaw discrimination and guarantee the Jews the same status as Austrian nationals which they held before the Anschluss. Another clause would require Austria to give Jewish refugees and DP’s preferential treatment over all others as well as providing them full protection by the projected International Refugee Organization.
Included among the economic clauses suggested are indemnification for property losses, restitution and the right to transfer assets and property abroad free of all taxes. The memorandum also asks that Austrian court decisions on property, human rights and discrimination be subject to review by an Allied authority under United Nations supervision.
It was disclosed that the Congress has been negotiating with the Austrian Government for revision of its property restitution laws to bring them more in line with Jewish demands. The Congress insists that the most unsatisfactory provisions of the laws are those dealing with the disposition of heirless Jewish property and the property of Austrian Jews who are now stateless.
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