Adenauer recognized the obligation of the West German government to compensate Israel , as the main representative of the Jewish people , for The Holocaust . West Germany started negotiations with Israel for restitution of lost property and the payment of damages to victims of Nazi persecution . In the '' Luxemburger Abkommen '' , West Germany agreed to pay compensation to Israel . Jewish claims were bundled in the Jewish Claims Conference , which represented the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany . West Germany then initially paid about 3 billion Mark to Israel and about 450 million to the Claims Conference , although payments continued after that , as new claims were made . In the face of severe opposition both from the public and from his own cabinet , Adenauer was only able to get the reparations agreement ratified by the '' Bundestag '' with the support of the SPD . Israeli public opinion was divided over accepting the money , but ultimately the fledgling state under David Ben-Gurion agreed to take it , opposed by more radical groups like Irgun , who were against such treaties . Those treaties were cited as a main reason for the assassination attempt by the radical Jewish groups against Adenauer
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
Konrad Adenauer