Behind the Headlines the ‘last Material Gesture’

The Bonn government’s “last material gesture” toward Jewish victims of Nazism has been an embarrassing issue here for several years. Last Dec. 14, guidelines for an arrangement to pay new reparations were agreed upon between the major political parties, However the indications are that the embarrassment will increase.

Under the suggested formula, Bonn will make available a total of 440 million Marks over a period of four years, of which 240 million Marks will be paid this year Of that amount, 40 million Marks will go to the Central Organization of Jewish Communities in West Germany (Zentralrat). In each of the years of 1982 and 1983, 100 million Marks will be made available.

The bulk of the money is to go to the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is to distribute it among survivors of the Holocaust. The government of Israel has reportedly reached an agreement with the Claims Conference on how and where a part of the money will be invested. But no details are as yet available.

The idea of the “last gesture” come up in the early 1970s after it was mode clear that many Jewish survivors of Nazi persecution were not in a position to forward their claims against Germany on time to benefit from the original reparation agreement. Most of the Jewish survivors lived in the Soviet Union or other East European countries when the deadline for filing claims expired; they were neither informed nor legally able to take the necessary measures in order to get financial compensation for suffering, or to recover property plundered by the Nazis.

EARLIER APPROACHES ON REPARATIONS

Former Chancellor Willy Brandt, chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party, negotiated the matter with Dr Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Claims Conference. He reportedly promised that I billion Marks would be made available for the so-called “hard cases” among the Jewish survivors. But it become obvious that Brands had gone too far both politically and financially.

His successor, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, felt himself committed to the idea of a “last gesture” but adopted a much more pragmatic and realistic attitude. He nominated former Finance Minister Alex Moeller to continue the negotiations with the Claims Conference. After a long period of hesitation, Goldmann accepted an offer of 550 million Marks which seemed to reflect a sincere desire of the Bonn government to make final amends. But Schmidt made the arrangement conditional on the support of the Christian Democratic opposition. Despite lobbying efforts from both Social Democrats and Jewish organizations, this support could not be assured, at Least not in advance.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the agreement between Goldmann and Moeller was opposed by Franz-Joseph Strauss, leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union who is now the opposition candidate for Chancellor.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS OUTLINED

Following a new round of negotiations in which leading Israeli politicians were also occasionally engaged, all three parliamentary factions in the Bundestag agreed to a “last gesture” to be fixed at 440 million Marks. Differences of opinion remained about who should present the necessary parliamentary motion on the issue. The opposition argued that it was up to the government to include the sum in its budget. The ruling Social Democrats sought a joint initiative of all parties represented in the Bundestag.

Last Dec. II, the government included the 440 million Marks “last gesture” in its budget for 1980 and asked the opposition to accept it in advance. No agreement could be reached, however, in the Bundestag committee dealing with budgetary matters and the issue went to the parliamentary factions for final consideration.

The main problem was caused by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) joint faction which demanded additional clarification as to the use of the money to be paid. Later on it was made clear that the issue involved a move to link the “last gesture” payment to the financial claims of certain groups of civil servants of the Third Reich, among them people who were never cleared by the de-Nazification tribunals and who were barred from material benefits under the Constitution.

The outcome of the debate among the parliamentary groups was that the three factions represented in the Bundestag urged the government to ask for a supplementary budget which will include the 440 million Marks, In another motion the three factions on Dec. 14 urged the government to explain to the Bundestag what consequences were to be drawn from the “last gesture” toward the Jewish survivors in regard to other groups of “hard cases” and, in particular, the former civil servants.

As matters stand now, a debate is scheduled in the Bundestag by March 31 in which, on the initiative of the CDU-CSU opposition, the issue of the “last gesture” will be aired along with material claims of civil servants of the Hitler era. But there is ample reason as for as many people are concerned to try to avoid linking the fate of the victims with that of their oppressors and to spare the Bonn government additional embarrassment.