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President of Vienna Jewish Community Charges Govt. Sabotaging Restitution Law

In an exclusive interview today with the Jewish telegraphic Agency, the president of the Jewish community council, David Brill, (##)ged that the execution of the restitution laws had become a public scandal, (##)l asserted that the Ministry of Property and Custody was especially guilty of (##)taging the restitution of Jewish property.

He said that Jews who returned to Austria recently from Palestine and (##)ghai, bringing the total number of Jews in this city to 8,000, were so disappointed and alarmed because of the situation that most of them were anxious to emigrate to the United States.

Brill said that Austrian authorities even prevent the former owners of now organized property from being installed as the public administrators and protect the (##) in every possible way. They tell the Jews that there is no danger of the property running away. He cited the instance of an owner of a cardboard factory who returned from Shanghai and was not admitted to the plant by the public administrator. (##) Austrian collaborationist remains as the administrator of the factory, which is worth $100,000. There are numorous cases of Jewish administrators who have been removed from their posts. In one instance, Franz Fuerth, a Jewish administrator, was removed from a carpet factory owned by his brother-in-law and replaced by Franz Herber who was imprisoned for three months as a war criminal.

Brill pointed out that this list of abuses can be continued indefinitely. He declared that there is an acute danger that the property of Jews outside the country will disappear.

He asserted that the government disregards American public opinion since it is “sure of the support of the United States.” Asked about the attitude of the Russian authorities who refused, according to the American delegate on the Treaty Commission, to return Jewish property taken by the Nazis by duress, Brill refused any explanation, declaring that the Russians do not differentiate between property sold to the Germans by Jews or non-Jews.

The Jewish community, which formerly owned 216 parcels of property in Austria, his to date received only four, while six other properties which remained under Jewish control during the Nazi regime have also remained in Jewish custody. All ten of these hospitals, homes for the aged and administration buildings bring no revenue to the Jewish community.