An Austrian reply to the demand for an acceptable offer on Jewish restitution claims cannot be expected in less than two weeks, a government spokesman declared here today. He was commenting on a statement in Paris yesterday by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the Committee for Jewish Claims on Austria, who said the Jewish group will not resume the restitution talks unless Austria makes a reasonable offer.
Meanwhile, the “Kleines Volksblatt,” newspaper of the Peoples Party, Chancellor Julius Raab’s party, declared today that the Austrian Cabinet has already expressed its willingness to negotiate. So far, the newspaper said, “negotiations” do not exist, there have only been “talks.”
Another newspaper which usually reflects Chancellor Raab’s opinions, the “Wiener Tageszeitung,” insisted that the expression “restitution” is misleading since Austria ceased to exist as a state in 1938 and therefore has no obligation to “restitute anything.” The Jewish representatives do not place a high enough value on the fact that the Austrian Government is willing, nevertheless, to grant certain compensation, the newspaper complained.
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