Konrad Adenauer, 1876-1967

Adenauer, West Germany’s chancellor from 1949 to 1963, initiated talks in March 1952 that resulted in West Germany agreeing to pay Israel 3 billion marks over 12 years as Holocaust reparations. The funds were crucial to the fledgling state’s economy but were criticized as “blood money” by Menachem Begin and others. The two states established full diplomatic relations two years after Adenauer left office.

Photo: Peter Bouserath, Christian Democratic Union, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons