Jewish Claims Conference: Volker Beck criticizes "Der Spiegel" for inaccurate reporting
The Der Spiegel article “Holy Money” conveys the impression that the Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) is responsible for the contradictions and deficiencies in German regulations for compensation and restitutions. This is an absurd and false thesis, conflating in an unacceptable manner the issues of Holocaust victim compensation and property restitution.
© Deutscher Bundestag / Angelika Kohlmeier
Introduction by the Editors of BERLIN ALERT
The Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) is a consortium of 23 Jewish organizations that was founded in 1951 at the request of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Since then, the JCC has negotiated compensation agreements with Germany, administering German restitution payments to hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors along guidelines determined by the German government. The organization also administers programs to support needy survivors. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Jewish Claims Conference identified unclaimed Jewish property in eastern Germany, redistributing proceeds to Holocaust survivors.
There are continued attempts to cast aspersions on the work of the JCC. In Israel, for example, the documentary “Reparations Morality” was aired during the Yom haShoah Holocaust remembrance day April 28, 2008. The film alleges that the JCC is mismanaged and financially intransparent—an allegation that has resonance in the Israeli political landscape.
Criticism of the Jewish Claims Conference can be resolved by glancing at the organization’s website, which provides relevant information about negotiations, payments, and eligibility regulations for restitution. The JCC website includes a detailed rebuttal of the film’s criticisms.
Another example of this criticism is found in the article “Holy Money”, published in the 23/2008 issue of Der Spiegel. The article purports to investigate charges against the JCC, asserting without evidence that a large monetary reserve is being accrued to maximize profits, thereby exploiting Holocaust victims and neglecting obligations to the survivors. This argument follows an unfortunate but unbroken tradition of antisemitic stereotypes involving “Jewish money” and alleged Jewish exploitation of the Holocaust.
Upset by the unfounded allegations in this portrayal, Volker Beck, the party whip and spokesperson for human rights affairs for the Green Party in the German Bundestag, wrote a letter to the editor of Der Spiegel on June 6, 2008. In 2002, Volker Beck received the Federal Cross of Merit for his commitment to compensating Nazi victims.
Volker Beck expanded his letter to the editor for BERLIN ALERT. Here is the full version:
Volker Beck’s letter to the Editor regarding the article “Holy Money“ (“Der Spiegel” 23/2008)
The Der Spiegel article “Holy Money” conveys the impression that the Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) is responsible for the contradictions and deficiencies in German regulations for compensation and restitutions. This is an absurd and false thesis, conflating in an unacceptable manner the issues of Holocaust victim compensation and property restitution.
An uninformed reader would think: Jewish officials steal money from the victims and cheat tax payers. Given widespread antisemitic prejudices existent in society, greater accuracy with the research would have been desirable.
The fact that the Jewish Claims Conference filed the necessary applications to obtain heirless properties is not due to greed, rather, it was the only option to secure the assets. This was of particular importance in the cases where the heirs registered only after the expiration of deadlines.
The Jewish Claims Conference has aided Germany for decades in the attempt to compensate in some small measure the injustices of the Nazi period.
“Bündnis 90/Die Grünen” (Alliance 90/The Greens) and I have worked together with the JCC for over 20 years and we appreciate the importance of its assistance for the victims. I have no doubt that the JCC measures up to its fiduciary and moral responsibilities fulfilling this important task.
The fact that ‘Der Spiegel’ published this influential article precisely the same week that the Jewish Claims Conference negotiated in Berlin for improved home care for needy Nazi victims raises suspicion that someone wanted to weaken the JCC’s negotiating position.
Regardless, we welcome the announcement of JCC’s Germany representative Georg Heuberger that the JCC will endeavor to create even more transparency for its operations.
Volker Beck is the parliamentary whip of the German political party “Alliance ‘90/The Greens” in the German Bundestag.
