This is a photograph of one of the emotional demonstrations in the days prior to the signing of the reparations agreement between the State of Israel and Germany. The photograph is undated, but it appears to have been taken in 1952, the year that the agreement was signed. The demonstrators in the photo are shouting and holding signs with slogans such as “Stop negotiating with the blood of disabled victims of the Nazis.” The demonstrators have angry expressions and are clearly opposed to the reparations agreement. Some of the men are shaking their fists, while others look to be shouting. In the foreground there is a man in what seems to be a policeman’s hat, who was perhaps a policeman attempting to control the event.
The reparations agreement was a commitment by Germany to transfer to the State of Israel and to the Holocaust survivors a total of three billion shekels within ten years in recognition of its responsibility for the murder of the Jewish people and damage to property and life. These reparations were extremely controversial, since many believed that money was should not and could never atone for the terrible events of the Holocaust. Others stated that while the German reparations could not compensate for the Nazis’ crimes, the money would be a huge contribution to the new State of Israel and would assist in the rehabilitation of the survivors and the Jewish people as a whole.
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German Reparations – In 1945, three months after the end of World War II, Chaim Weizmann, on behalf of the Jewish Agency, submitted a request to the Allied Forces for monetary compensation from Germany for its involvement in the Holocaust. In 1951, Israel’s foreign minister, Moshe Sharett submitted a second request for reparations on the behalf of the State of Israel. West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer replied that his country was ready to come to an agreement with Israel and the Jewish people. Debates broke out in the Knesset and nationwide over whether or not to accept reparations from Germany. Many believed that money should not and could never atone for the terrible events of the Holocaust. Others stated that while the German reparations could not compensate for the Nazi crimes, the money would be a tremendous contribution to the new State of Israel and would assist in the rehabilitation of the survivors and the Jewish people. Menachem Begin, the leader of the Herut party, was a strong opponent of reparations and led many stormy demonstrations against any kind of compensation and cooperation between Israel and Germany. In 1953 an agreement was ratified, and West Germany agreed to pay $845 million to Israel and to individual Holocaust survivors. Much of the money to Israel was paid in goods such as ships and other German products. Additional payments were agreed on as a result of the later reunification of East and West Germany and individual lawsuits by survivors.
