House of Lords Hears British View on German Reparations to Israel

The British Government understands that any payments which Germany would make to Israel as a result of The Hague negotiations “would obviously not be in the nature of an ordinary commercial indebtedness, but rather in the nature of some measure of reparation, of moral even more than material value, for the enormities committed during the Hitler regime.”

A statement to this effect was made in the House of Lords by Lord Reading, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He emphasized that as far as the British Government understands, the German payment to Israel would be based “upon the calculated cost of resettlement in Israel of Jews driven out of Europe by the Nazis.”

Lord Reading said that the British Government welcomes the talks at The Hague. “We await the outcome with much interest,” he declared. “Although press reports have appeared which indicate a hitch in the discussions, we still greatly hope for a satisfactory settlement.”

JUSTICE OF JEWISH CLAIMS STRESSED BY LORD HENDERSON

Lord Reading made his statement following a speech delivered in the House of Lords by Lord Henderson, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the last Labor Government. Lord Henderson stressed the justice of the Jewish and Israeli demands for reparations and welcomed the German move in opening the question.

“We are seven years from the end of the war and there is a tendency to forget the shameful martyrdom of the Jews in Germany and in German-occupied territories,” Lord Henderson said. “Over 6,000,000 of them were done to death and their property confiscated. But it is unnecessary for me to go into the details of this chapter of evil doings-noble Lords are well aware of them. I think we should agree that these crimes called for repudiation by democratic Germany and for such moral and material indemnifications as lay in its power.”

Touching upon the talks at The Hague, Lord Henderson stated: “So far, I believe, these discussions on Jewish claims have been kept quite separate from the London discussions on Germany’s external debts. That seems to me to be right and proper, because by no stretch of the imagination can the Jewish claims be regarded as belonging to the category of external debts. Their nature and history are altogether different.

“I hope, therefore, that it is the intention of Her Majesty’s Government to keep them separate and both they and their two Allies will continue to give their sympathy and encouragement to the efforts to arrive at a satisfactory agreement through The Hague conference. It is regrettable that there has been what appears to be a break down in the discussions, and I sincerely hope that it may prove to be only temporary. It is important that the conference should succeed.

“I believe that if it can reach agreement, this conference may make a real contribution towards assauging the bitter memories of the Jewish people, and the gradual development of a spirit of reconciliation between the peoples of these two countries.”