In Memory of Paul Goldschmidt
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Vol. IX No. 4 APRIL. 1954 INFORMATION ISSUED By THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH REFUGEES IN GREAT BRITAIN 8 FAIRFAX MANSIONS, OfTia and Con^ultint Hours: FINCHLEY RCAD (Corner Fairfax Road), Monday to Thursday IOa.m.—t p.m. 3—6 p.m. LONDON. N.W.3 Friday IOa.m.—t p.m. Te/et>>iane: MA'da VaU 9096/7 (Ganeral Office) Sunday 10 a.m.—I p.m. MAIda Vale 4449 (Emplo/menc Atency) (AJK Social Services Department only) SOME FACTS GERMAN JEWRY'S RIGHTS IGNORED The Jewish Restitution Successor Organisation (JRSO) was appointed by the American Military . It is with regret that we have to announce " operating agent" imphed the full and Government in 1948 in order to recover Jewish exclusive use and expenditure of all funds communal, heirless and unclaimed property in the a very unpleasant development in Jewish American Zone of Germany. The Board of Directors life that concerns the relations of Jews from receovered from German Jewish property. consists of delegates of twelve leading Jewish Germany with the international Jewish organisations, including the Joint and the Jewish At a later stage, responsible spokesmen of Agency which are acting as " operating agents." welfare organisations. The " Council for the the " operating agents " assured the repre Protection of the Rights and Interests of Apart from the Federation of Jewish Communities sentatives of the Council unequivocally that in the U.S. Zone, the " Council of Jews from Jews from Germany " has been compelled to in any case the Council's demands for its Germany " is the only organisation by which the withdraw from the Jewish Restitution Suc welfare projects would be satisfied out of the Nazi victims themselves are represented at the cessor Organisation (JRSO). This body was money paid by the German Government to Board of Directors. According to an American appointed by the American Mihtary Govern Military Order, a Successor Organisation has to use the so-called " Claims Conference." As the the recovered assets for the benefit of all members ment after the war in order to recover Jewish leading men of JRSO and of the Claims of the group or class it represents. By September communal, heirless and unclaimed property Conference are practically identical, the 1953, JRSO had received 68 million D.M. gross ; in the American Zone of Germany, so that Coimcil trusted these promises and refrained the net proceeds were allocated to the two it should not be acquired by the German " operating agents," the Jewish Agency (38 million from public actions to defend its rights. D.M.) and the Joint (18 million D.M.). The claim authorities. repeatedly made by the " Council of Jews from On March 2 the Executive Board of JRSO, Germany " to a share in this former German Jewish Withdrawal from JRSO meeting in New York, again rejected the property was rejected. demands of the Council (which anyhow had The organisation recovering the communal, We are publishing overleaf the letter which been substantially reduced in view of the fact heirless and unclaimed property in the British Zone of Germany is the " Jewish Trust Corporation " Rabbi Leo Baeck, the venerated leader of that the funds collected by JRSO in the past (J.T.C.). For the allocation of its proceeds the German Jewry, has had to address to the had already been expended). It again tried following arrangements have been made : Two- Board of JRSO after this body had declined to offer a vague and evasive arrangement to thirds are to be allotted to the Joint and the Jewish to meet even the modest claims submitted by which the Council, after its bitter experi Agency. Of the remaining 33 per cent, a quarter the Council. The letter is self-explanatory. (i.e. 8 per cent of the total) are to go to the " Council ences, could not accede. There was no of Jews from Germany" to be used for social There can be no doubt that a man of the alternative but to end the Council's member projects of the Council's member organisations in dignity and moderation of Dr. Baeck has ship of JRSO, thus indicating that the countries other than Great Britain, Israel and U.S.A. only with great reluctance considered it his Council was no longer responsible for or in The remaining 25 per cent are to be used for social duty to take such a drastic step. But after schemes in Great Britain. For the distribution of agreement with the activities of JRSO. these funds in Great Britain an Allocation Com more than fom- years of frustration and mittee has been set up under the auspices of the useless talk no other attitude was possible, No Share in German Payments Central British Fund ; it consists of ten members, Unless the Council was prepared to abandon three of whom are representatives of the .\JR. its care for the interests of the former It is the intention of the Allocation Committee to The promise that the Claims Conference use part of the money for individual support, but German Jews. would allocate funds to meet the social needs the bulk for the establishment of Homes for the It should be repeated—a fact well known of Jews from Germany, represented by the .\ged and Infirm and of a flatlet home. It must, to our readers—that the Council never took Coimcil, was not kept either. The Claims however, be kept in mind that, as the J.T.C. started Conference allocated the bulk of this year's its operations considerably later than JRSO, the separate steps to secxu-e rehabilitation of funds to be expected in the near future will be those Jews who originally came from Ger funds to the American Joint Distribution rather limited and that also in the long run the many and who are now members of the Committee. Experts of the Joint were proceeds in the British Zone will be considerably affiUated organisations of the Council (of appointed to investigate the social and smaller than in the American Zone. "AJR cultural projects which the Council had sub Information " will keep its readers informed of any which the AJR is one). It would not have further developments. been difficult, for instance, to approach the mitted to the Claims Conference. It is a The " Conference on Jewish Material Claims German Federal Government with such curious fact that thus the same organisation against Germany " (" Claims Conference ") was set requests, as it is well known that the Bonn acted as expert, claimant, and judge in its up after Chancellor Dr. Adenauer had promised Government still feels a special responsibility own cause. The investigators rejected the global recompense to the State of Israel and to the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution outside Israel. towards former German citizens whose lives claims of the Council. This happened in spite It acted as the representative body of the non- have been uprooted by the Nazis. Many of of previous commitments such as a letter of Israeli organisations during the Hague negotiations them have no indiv-idual claims to restitution July 25, 1952, in which the President of the and, as the result of these negotiations, is to receive or indemnification under the existing laws, Claims Conference, Dr. Nahmn Goldmann, global recompense of 450 million D.M. in annual had written to Dr. Leo Baeck : " We agreed instalments. The Headquarters of the Claims whilst in many other cases the claims are too Conference in New York are identical with those of limited to affect their status substantially. on the principle that the Council should JRSO and the Joint. The " Council of Jews from The Council refrained from any independent receive a share of the Conference award." Germany " is represented at the Executive of the steps because it believed that in matters After the failure of attempts to have the Claims Conference. According to tlie Hague recommendations of the investigators modi Agreement, the payments of the German Federal like these the Jews aU over the world should Government are to be used for the relief.rehabilita- act as one body. In accordance with this fied, the Council's representative at the tion and resettlement of Nazi victims. At the Board attitude, the Council joined the organisations Claims Conference, Dr. Rudolf Callmann, Meeting in New York on March 21, the funds which formed JRSO, and it also agreed that refused to attend the meeting of the Claims abailabie this year were allocated. Of the total of the " Jewish Agency for Palestine " and the Conference in New York on March 21. At 9.5 million dollars, 6.6 million dollars were allocated to the Joint. The " Council of Jews from Germany " " American Joint Distribution Committee," this meeting the funds for the year 1954 were had submitted a comprehensive programme, sub as the leading international relief organisa allocated as suggested by the investigators, stantiating the needs of former German Jews all tions, should be appointed " operating i.e. at the total exclusion of the Council. over the world. Its claim was rejected. As readers agents" of JRSO. It was, however, not The present position is therefore that both will see from the article published in this issue, the understood at the time, that the function of representatives of the Council therefore refused to ConUiMUd on p»tt 2 attend the Meeting of the Claims Conference. Paft* 2 AJR INFORMATION April, 1954 tlonlimud from fmU pmf. Dr. BAECK'S LETTER TO JRSO JRSO and the Claims Conference have re jected the claim of the " Council of Jews New York, March 12, 1954. This melancholy experience lasted for more from Germany " to a share in the communal Gentlemen, than four years, but we kept on hoping that and heirless property in the American Zone finally we should meet with some reasonable of Germany and in the payments of the Five years ago, when JRSO was estab understanding.