ABSTRACT
T HE STATEMENT by Chancellor Adenauer to the Bundestag on 27 September 1951 was the turning point in all the secret contacts between Germany, Israel and the Jewish organizations. It allowed public preparations to begin for the opening of official negotiations. Adenauer had obtained prior approval of his statement from the President of the Federal Republic, Theodor Heuss, and had shown the text to representatives of the leading German political parties. Terms of the statement had been agreed in advance between the Chancellor and representatives of both Israel and the Jewish organizations. I Germany's insistence on negotiating with representatives ofworidJewry as well as with Israel came as no surprise. In fact, Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency had already agreed among themselves that Israel's claims and those of world Jewry would have to be presented separately if they were to have any success in the negotiations.2 Distinct claims presented by separate delegations were considered preferable by the Jewish side from the beginning.
