Dr. Rolf Dahlgruen, West Germany’s Minister of Finance, agreed provisionally to give priority in 1966 indemnification payments, due victims of Nazism, to certain categories of claimants. But he insisted that victims who could not file claims prior to October 1, 1953, because they were still captives in countries behind the Iron Curtain, would have their 1966 payments severely restricted, due to the Government’s budget deficiencies.
The provisional agreement was made at a meeting with representatives of various organizations of victims of Nazism, including the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The delegation that called on Dr. Dahlgruen protested vigorously against a recent amendment to the German Indemnification Law which would have delayed 1966 and 1967 payments to the “post-1953” group of indemnification claimants. Included in that group are about 150, 000 claimants who are Jews.
As a result of the meeting, Dr. Dahlgruen agreed to divide the various types of claims into two categories, one having priority, the other labeled “non-priority.” The provisional agreement calls for priority payments in 1966, without cuts or deferments, to claimants who are 65 years or over; claims for medical treatments; and victims of Nazism entitled to pensions or annuities.
The Finance Minister placed the “post-1953” claimants in the “non-priority” category, as well as some other claimants such as those who claim indemnification for having their education interrupted by Nazi persecutions. These claimants will be eligible in 1966 to a flat payment of 5, 000 Deutschmarks ($1, 225) each, plus a 40 percent payment of their total individual claims.
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.
