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."