#TodayILearned West Germany paid billions of dollars in repa...

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  "content": "#TodayILearned West Germany paid billions of dollars in reparations to #Israel for the Holocaust. The two nations signed a historic pact called the [Reparations Agreement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparations_Agreement_between_Israel_and_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany) (also known as the Luxembourg Agreement) on September 10, 1952. Under this treaty, West #Germany agreed to pay the state of Israel and Jewish organizations to help resettle Holocaust survivors and compensate for stolen property. [1, 2, 3, 4] \nThe agreement was highly unusual because neither country existed during World War II. It marked a major step in West Germany's effort to rejoin the global community. [5, 6, 7, 8] \n## 💰 What Was Paid\nWest Germany paid a massive sum of money over a 12-year period, which entered into force in 1953: [1, 9, 10] \n\n* 3 billion Deutsche Marks ($7 billion today) was paid directly to the state of Israel. [9] \n* Goods, not cash, made up most of these payments. West Germany sent steel, ships, machinery, and trains. This helped build Israel's early economy and infrastructure. [9, 11, 12, 13, 14] \n* 450 million Deutsche Marks went to the [Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany](https://www.claimscon.org/about/history/). This group distributed the funds to help individual Jewish survivors living outside of Israel. [1, 9, 15] \n* Indemnification laws were also passed by West Germany to give monthly pensions directly to individual survivors for their trauma and loss of livelihood. [1, 9] \n\n## ⚖️ The Controversy\nThe deal was deeply controversial in both nations and sparked fierce public debates. [4, 16] \n\n* In Israel: Many citizens were furious about accepting what they called \"blood money\" from the \"land of the murderers\". Massive protests and violent riots broke out. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion argued that the young, financially broke nation desperately needed the funds to house half a million poor refugees. [9, 17, 18, 19] \n* In West Germany: Chancellor Konrad Adenauer faced pushback because the German public was not consulted. Many regular Germans felt they were the victims of the war and did not want to send money away. Adenauer pushed the deal forward to fix Germany's international image. [8, 11, 18, 20] \n* In East Germany: The communist government of East Germany completely refused to participate. They denied any responsibility for Nazi crimes and never paid reparations to Israel. [5, 21, 22] \n\n## 🔄 Ongoing Payments\nThe 1952 agreement was just the beginning. The German government continues to negotiate with the Claims Conference to this day. Over the decades, Germany has paid more than $90 billion in total to survivors worldwide, and billions are still paid out every year from the German federal budget. [3, 15, 23] \n\n[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparations_Agreement_between_Israel_and_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany)\n[2] [https://www.reddit.com](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5pd4qy/were_financial_reparations_to_israel_for_the/)\n[3] [https://www.bbc.com](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22707483)\n[4] [https://www.sun-sentinel.com](https://www.sun-sentinel.com/events/#!/details/paying-for-the-holocaust-the-controversial-reparations-agreement-between-israel-and-west-germany-and-the-plot-to-kill-adenauer/9737091/2022-01-13T15)\n[5] [https://www.ebsco.com](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/diplomacy-and-international-relations/germany-agrees-pay-reparations-israel)\n[6] [https://academic.oup.com](https://academic.oup.com/book/26106/chapter/194116376)\n[7] [https://www.jpost.com](https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-734910)\n[8] [https://www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkdpStbJrHs\u0026t=7)\n[9] [https://americangerman.institute](https://americangerman.institute/2019/11/the-september-1952-reparations-agreement-between-west-germany-and-israel-the-beginning-of-a-remarkable-friendship/)\n[10] [https://remember.org](https://remember.org/guide/facts-root-aft-lib-aft)\n[11] [https://jacobin.com](https://jacobin.com/2020/11/postwar-west-germany-support-israel-whitewashing)\n[12] [https://www.history.com](https://www.history.com/articles/poland-wwii-reparations-germany)\n[13] [https://www.nytimes.com](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/04/world/israel-s-ties-with-germany-elude-us-jews.html)\n[14] [https://www.thedial.world](https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-3/holocaust-reparations-wassenaar-agreement)\n[15] [https://www.claimscon.org](https://www.claimscon.org/about/history/)\n[16] [https://www.reddit.com](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ub3ql2/what_level_of_support_did_west_german_citizens/)\n[17] [https://www.reddit.com](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/1k64t91/our_honor_shall_not_be_sold_for_money_our_blood/)\n[18] [https://www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuCxdU3l-WY\u0026t=67)\n[19] [https://www.independent.ie](https://www.independent.ie/world-news/germany-marks-70-years-of-compensating-holocaust-survivors/a/133468462.html)\n[20] [https://www.lockdownuniversity.org](https://www.lockdownuniversity.org/lectures/1177-abomination-of-abominations-the-germany-israel-reparations-controversy/transcript)\n[21] [https://www.israelhayom.com](https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/01/31/before-capitol-riot-there-was-the-1952-knesset-insurrection/)\n[22] [https://www.latimes.com](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-13-mn-1205-story.html)\n[23] [https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de](https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/israel-node/israel-228212) \n\n[Source: Google Gemini](https://share.google/aimode/7SCjRe2VbPuuHN2gq) #TIL",
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