We who does chart-
* and Justice is as 4
ire had filled the whole
world -with kindness."
•..The Talomml atuickao, 40.
Work for arid Give
Liberally to the Allied
Jewish Campaign
VOLUME 21—No. 3
HE JEw
1 E
Exposing 'Slavery
in Freedom':
NEWS
Thought Control
Has No Place
In Democracy
of Jewish Events
Prie-Passover Tww9M ion
Commeotary C•lvows, Page 2
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper—Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
$4.00 Per Year; Single Copy, 10c
.413111.
_, 7
708 David Stott Bldg.—Phone WO. 5-1155 Detroit, - Michigan, March 28, 1952.
•
•
Ask Half Billion
for
Surviving
•
•
•
•
Nazi Victims; Figures Contested
THE HAGUE, (JTA)—The delegation representing the Conference
• SIL Jewish Material Claims Against Germany at the current reparations
negotiations here requested that. West Germany pay $500,000.000 for the
benefit of surviving Jewish victims of Nazism outside Israel, in addition
all individual claims and the return of all stolen prop-
to the payment
erty to original Jewish owners.
The demand was made at a session in a historic old castle in the
suburb of Wassenaar which followed a three-hour meeting between the
Israeli and German delegations. A Conference spokesman stressed that
the statement last Friday by the Germans dealing with Germany's ability
ao pay the claims was "not a proper" subject for this meeting.
At the Israeli-German session, the Israelis asked the Germans to
explain specifically what they had meant in their opening statement last
Friday when they said that the settlement must "align" Israel's claims
with the work of the London conference—of some 30 nations—on Ger-
many's pre-war external debts. The Israelis also questioned the German
delegation's raising, the point of their country's ability to pay the Israeli
demands.
Before the session began the members of the Israeli delegation sent
a message of condolence to the widow of Itzhak Besner. Mr. Besner was
killed in the crash of a Dutch K.L.M. aircraft at Frankfort. He was en
route to this city to serve the delegation as a financial advisor.
The German delegation, in its opening statement Friday before the
Israeli delegation and repeated later before the delegation of the Con-
terence on Jewish Material Claims, pointed out that it had been instructed
by the West German government to reaffirm the declaration on Jewish
restitution made by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in the Bonn parliament
Last September.
"We are aware that this involves more than merely obligations to
make material amends," Prof. Franz Boehm, head of the German dele-
gation said. He then emphasized that certain facts warranted the division
of the negotiations into several stages. He pointed out that :
1. Allied legislation in Germany restricts the transfer or supply of goods to
leiceign creditor countries.
2. The financial capacity of the West German Republic is limited in view
of the total amount of her ability. The first and most important thing• is that
Use obligations undertaken by the German Government—as far as they are to
be met in foreign exchange or in the supply of goods—should be coordinated
with the final overall settlement of the problem of German debts.
The objective of the first stage of the negotiations. Prof. Boehm
teutinued. is to detail the different categories of the Israeli and Jewish
claims. This, he declared, would have to include the relations between the
claims and other liabilities of the West German Republic, especially lia-
bilities to individual claimants.
The head of the German delegation then gave his government's as-
surances that the Israeli and Jewish claims will receive most careful con-
sideration." He added that upon the conclusion of the first stage of the
negotiations, the Bonn government will decide whether the extent of the
claims can be met within the scope of Germany's financial capacity and
the overall settlement of German debts.
Prof. Boehm emphasized that his drawing the attention of the Israeli
and Conference delegations to Germany's limited financial_ capacity is not
due to an unwillingness to make amends for past wrongs, but to the fact
that full restitution is beyond Germany's ability at present. He expressed
the hope that Germany's current efforts to remedy the damage done to
the Jewish people will be seen as proof of her "earnest and sincere" de-
sire to render reparations.
The Israeli delegation emphasized in its opening statement that "it
must be clearly understood that satisfaction of Israel's claims is not re-
garded as constituting in any way expiation of the fearful holocaust _
with 6,000,000 Jews murdered in Europe and the destruction of ancient
Jewish communities and their precious spiritual possessions. These
losses, "the Israel spokesman declared,.. "cannot be made good by any
material recompense. The Israel claim is thus minimal in size and sym-
bolic in character. To settle the historic account, the hour has not yet
conic."
The Israeli delegation opened by presenting the full text of Israel's
note of March 12, 1951, to the four Western Powers in which it set out
claims of $1,500,000.000 against Germany as the cost of resettling Nazi
survivors in Israel. It announced that Israel's demands were based on this
note. on Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's statement to the Bonn Parliament
and his letter to Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the. °Conference on
Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The statement pointed out that the Israel claim was not related to
the real value of the Jewish property looted by the Nazis but was based
-on the expenditure incurred by Israel in resettlement of Jews who escaped
the Nazi terror. While $1.500.000.000 is claimed from Germany as a whole,
it declared, the portion claimed from the West German Federal Republic
was one billion dollars.
The statement said it will be the endeavor of the Israel delegation to
secure payment of collective recompense as affirmed in the Israeli notes
Continude on Page 24
Israel Enables Indian Jews
To Return to Former Homes
Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News
TEL AVIV—Jewish Agency officials here on Tuesdaa7
promised demonstrating Indian Jews that transportation
would be provided for their return to India.
The demonstrators. members of 35 families, have
wanted to return to India for months, but maintain that the
agency has not kept its promise to make arrangements for
their trip. After the Agency officials satisfied their d•-
rnands Monday night. the demonstratorr remained in the
city overnight before setting out to return to their tem-
porary quarters in an immigrant camp.
Van Leer Steel Drum Factory Closes
HAIFA—The Van Leer Steel Drum factory here, t
only one of its kind in Israel. is closing down because o
shortage of materials. All em
ployes of the firm are being
Madden Retracts;
dismissed.
Congressmen Deny
Israel needs about 250,000
steel drums annually. The
Rankin's Charges
closing of this plant will af-
fect the export of paints, food
Rep. Ray J. Madden of
products and chemicals from
Indiana last week retracted
Israel.
his statement on the floor
Deportation of Jews •
of the U. S. House of Rep-
Continues
in Romania
resentati'es which gave the
The
deportation
of former
impression that he endors-
middle class Jews from Buch-
ed Rep. John Rankin's
arest a n d other Romanian
charge of - Yiddish Com-
cities continues day and night,
munist" world control.
it was stated Tuesday by Cm-
Rep. Madden's statement is
migrants who arrived here
quoted in the leading edi-
from Romania late Monday.
torial in this issue.
The immigrants aLso said that
Michigan Congressmen
SoViet specialists are occupying
the vacated apartments. Depor-
John D. Dingell and
tees are sent' to work on the
George D; O'Brien denied
ifnalben Aids Disabled:
Down the gangplank come the lame, the
and
the
sick
who
are
being
brought
for
care
in Israel Malben institutions maintained
Nall-
by the Joint Distribution Committee, a beneficiary of the United Jewish Appeal. The Mal-
_ ben welfare program brings hope and opportunity to 11,000 aged and handicapped Jew-
ish immigrants in Israel. The Malben program is stopported in Detroit by the Allied Jew-
-kit Campaign, several of whose divisions will commence their 1952 activities this week.
Detailed Allied Jewisk Campaign stories ea inside pages.
knowing anything about a
meeting of the Michigan
delegation at which the
head of "a great military
academy" said—as charged
by Rep. Rankin—that "a,
little gang of Yids at the
top" is in "complete con-
trol" in Poland.
Danube River, Black Sea Canal.
The party which arrived Mon-
day is one of smallest to come
through in months. They re-
ported that they were subjected
to a severe search by customs
officials and that a large quan-
tity of clothing was confiscated
by the officials for "our brethren.
in Korea."