Representatives of a number of German municipalities met here today to protest against the decision of an American higher court that municipal councils in Germany must return to the original Jewish owners any art objects and jewels confiscated by Nazi authorities and now in the possession of pawnshops managed by the city. The court also ruled that municipal pawnshops must pay indemnity to Jews for valuables turned over by then to Nazi authorities.
The conference decided to submit a memorandum to the Allied High Commission claiming that city pawnshops acted under orders from higher Nazi authorities when turning over confiscated Jewish property in their possession to these authorities; thus they cannot be made responsible for the property.
Speakers at the conference pointed out that if the ruling of the U.S. court were carried out, it would mean that various municipalities in Germany would have to pay to Jews approximately 20,000,000 marks. The memorandum to be submitted to the Allied High Commission will point out that the financial situation of German cities makes it impossible to pay such indemnification.
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.
