N EWS I AMERICAN EYE INSTITUTE Family Eye Care MIL-- -7 • IN= Je.P. • 1:4t. 110=111111 UMW JCL - •yer.....virermomm: pm7117 ,. • • • • • • • • Cataract Laser & Implant Surgery Glaucoma Therapy Diabetic Eye Care Myopia Surgery Contact Lenses Emergencies Second Opinions Saturday & Evening hours available 25811 W. 12 Mile Rd. • Suite 204 • Southfield, Michigan (Between Northwestern & Telegraph) 358-3937 — 24 hours — Martin I. Apple, M.D. Michael Y. Greenley, M.D. 1 LAVE I_WC IQ E Full Service Travel Agency Traveling Has Never Been Easier Pick up the phone & we'll handle the rest... • • • • • • • • • • Instant Ticketing Boarding Passes Free Ticket Delivery Corporate Account Incentive Package Cruises Groups Rail Air Hotel & Car Reservations Charters 1.800 729-9820 (313) 827-9920 FAX (313) 355-1701 Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results Place Your Ad Today. Call 354-6060 74 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1990 Deadline Is Extended For Claims Against Nazis JAY LECHTMAN Special to The Jewish News A united Germany has extended its deadline for filing claims for property seized during the Nazi regime, according to international Jewish organ- izations. Holocaust survivors or their heirs now have until March 31, 1991, to file their claims. The original date was Oct. 13, 1990. Furthermore, claims may now be filed with the Justice Ministry in Bonn, the Ger- man capital. Previously, claims had to be filed in the city or county where the property owner last lived or where the property was located. The United Restitution Organization, a Jewish claims group based in Frankfurt, Germany, said that claims for filing in Bonn should be sent to: Ministry of Justice Heinemannstrasse 6 5300 Bonn 2 Germany This should facilitate the claims process for survivors, because "there are so many small towns in Germany that it becomes almost im- possible for people" to know where to send property claims, said Israel Miller, president of the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The Conference is an international claims organ- ization representing 24 Jew- ish groups including the Synagogue Council of America, B'nai B'rith Inter- national and the American Joint Distribution Com- mittee along with Zionist and Holocaust survivors associations. For property located in larger cities in what was East Germany, such as Leip- zig and Dresden, Dr. Miller suggests applying directly to the city administrator. In another victory for the Claims Conference, that organization may now claim property where heirs no longer exist. However, "it will be years" until any such claims can be made, if at all, said Saul Kagan, executive direc- tor of the Conference. "It is a long process to trace heirless Jay Lechtman is a staff reporter for our sister news- paper, the Baltimore Jewish Times. property and then to reclaim it from people who will not willingly give it up." The extension came as the result of a treaty which was adopted by the parliaments of both Germanies, just before unification on Oct. 3. While West Germany has been paying damages to Nazi victims since shortly after World War II, East Germany has never made reparations. For the Claims Con- ference, this treaty "gives us an opportunity to raise with a united Germany the ques- tion of people who are now coming out of Eastern Europe and never had an opportunity to file," Dr. Miller said. Survivors are also eligible for a one-time hardship payment of 5,000 deutsche marks, roughly $2,700. Some 80,000 such payments have been made, and ap- proximately 1,800 new claims are being filed for payment in the United States and Israel, according to Dr. Miller. Additionally, some 170,000 survivors have been receiving pensions from the German government since 1952. The Claims Conference urges German property owners "to file as early as possible," Dr. Miller said. "We have no knowledge yet about exactly what is going to come out of it, but we do know that we are going to be making a major effort." ❑ A D L Seeks Latvian Resident New York — The Anti- Defamation League is seek- ing information about Rasele Habass, a former resident of Rezekne, Latvia, in response to a request from the Pro- secutor's Office in Dortmund, Germany. Ms. Habass was arrested in 1941 at age 17 by local authorities while hiding from the Nazis in the Jarnopole Forest in Resna, Latvia. She was taken to the jail in- Rezekne along with Falke Bores, another Jew who was immediately shot. Those with knowledge of Ms. Habass or her current whereabouts are asked to communicate with Elliot Welles, director, Anti- Defamation League Nazi War Criminals Task Force, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017.