A proposal that all heirless Jewish property confiscated by the Nazis should be assigned to Israel was made today in the North Rhine Westphalian parliament by Dr. Karl Frenkel, a high official of the Ministry of Interior in North Rhine Westphalia.
Emphasizing that the Ministry of Interior wants to return to Jewish ownership all the property seized by the Nazis from Jews who were annihilated in concentration and death camps, the official told the parliament that he feared German judges could not be trusted to issue just verdicts on matters affecting restitution of Jewish property.
Severe criticism against the proposal was voiced in the parliament by Dr. H. Mueller, a member of the Christian Democratic Party. He said that the proposal is tantamount to making Israel a fifth occupation power in Germany. He admitted that Jewish property which would have to be restituted amounts to “thousands of millions of marks,” but added that “the German people could not possibly make such a present to Israel.”
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.
