American Jewish Committee Welcomes German Blueprint For Slave Labor Compensation

American Jewish Committee
Monday, 8 February 1999

The American Jewish Committee today welcomed a preliminary German government plan for compensating individuals who were slave laborers during World War II.

The "blueprint" for compensation was presented by a senior German official at a luncheon meeting at the Washington office of the American Jewish Committee.

Bodo Hombach, Minister of the German Federal Chancellery, told the AJC leaders and others gathered for the luncheon that he hopes the "blueprint," which calls for the establishment of a foundation to pay former forced laborers, will be seen as an acceptable way to resolve the matter. Hombach said the plan will recognize the distinctions between slave laborers, who were mostly Jewish, and others who were forced to work under the Nazis as well.

Hombach indicated that some of the funds would be used for future-oriented projects, such as education, youth exchanges and the maintenance of memorial sites.

The "blueprint" calls for commencing payments to former forced laborers on September 1, 1999, the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

Hombach did not indicate how much money would be contributed to the foundation. In addition to private German companies, public firms also would be expected to participate.

Hombach emphasized that the "blueprint" evolved out of discussions between Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and the chief executive officers of several German companies.

"The willingness of the present German government to finally resolve the slave laborers' claims represents a breakthrough on one of the forgotten chapters of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of AJC's Office of European Affairs.

AJC, the only American Jewish organization to maintain an office in Berlin, has been pressing the slave labor, as well as other issues concerning Holocaust-era claims.

The luncheon took place before Hombach's scheduled meeting with Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat, the Clinton administration's pointman on Holocaust restitution issues. Hombach discussed the "blueprint" with Eizenstat as well as with representatives of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org