Austrian Vice-Chancellor Dr. Adolph Schaerf today revealed that a decision to begin reparations talks with Jewish groups was unanimously adopted by the Austrian Cabinet.
“The decision was arrived at by a unanimous vote of both parties in the Austrian Cabinet–the Social Democratic Party and the Catholic Peoples Party,” he told a representative of the Jewish Labor Committee. Dr. Schaerf, who is chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Austria, is now attending the international Socialist convention here.
“The Social Democratic Party.” Dr. Schaerf declared, “has always maintained the position that reparations must be paid to all victims of Nazism, especially to the Jews. The Austrian Social Democratic Party will cooperate to the fullest extent in the negotiations with the representatives of the Jewish people,” he said.
The Austrian Vice-Chancellor made his statement to Samuel Estrin, representative of the Jewish Labor Committee, who informed him that the J.L.C. was one of the Jewish groups which is to jointly conduct the reparations talks with the Austrian Government.
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