Adenauer, Konrad

(1876–1967)

   First chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Adenauer had been an anti-Nazi throughout the Hitler period and on that account had been dismissed from the post of mayor of Cologne and twice arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo. As post-war chancellor of West Germany, he was ready to accept that the German people had a moral obligation arising out of the Nazi massacre of the Jews, and believed that an act of reparation would help the process of political rehabilitation. He was therefore responsive when in September 1951 the Zionist leader Dr Nahum GOLDMANN came to see him at Claridge’s Hotel in London, at the request of the Israel premier, BEN-GURION. Goldmann obtained from him a letter agreeing to negotiations with the Israel government and with a claims conference representing the major Jewish organizations in the Western world.

   The following year a reparations agreement was signed at Luxembourg. The $845 million involved was payable over twelve years, 30 per cent for crude oil and the rest in the form of credits for German goods. Adenauer had to overcome considerable domestic opposition to this commitment. In spite of initial scepticism in many quarters, the agreement was faithfully implemented and made an important contribution to Israel’s development. After the agreement, Adenauer at first favoured diplomatic relations with Israel but later drew back from it, lest the Arab states should retaliate by recognizing East Germany. The establishment of formal relations came with his successor, Ludwig Erhard.

   In 1960, Adenauer and Ben-Gurion met in New York at the Waldorf Hotel.

   Adenauer agreed to a German loan for Israel after the end of the reparations. The two statesmen found much in common - each of them incidentally known in his own country as ‘The Old Man’ (Der Alter and ha-Zaken respectively). In 1966, after he had retired from public life, Adenauer came on a visit to Israel as the guest of the Government.