The German Compensation Program for Forced Labor

This book describes the practical implementation of the German compensation program for Nazi-era forced labor. The program was the result of international negotiations between German companies, the governments of the US, Germany, and Central and Eastern European countries, and representatives. Written by authors who were directly involved in the implementation of the program, the publication provides an insider`s perspective of the compensation program for forced labor. It examines in detail the different stages of the program, such as deciding on eligibility criteria, setting up organizational structures, outreach, processing and verifying claims, establishing audit and controls processes, as well as the necessary steps to complete such a massive program. By illustrating why and how decisions were taken and how these affected later phases of the program, the authors hope to provide insights, knowledge, and inspiration for those involved in setting up or implementing reparations programs in the future.

Auteur
Gunter Saathoff was the Co-Director of the EVZ Foundation from 2003 to 2017. As scientificadvisor to the German Parliament he took part in the preparations of the Foundation Law aswell as in other initiatives dealing with the acknowledgement and compensation of Nazi injustice and GDR injustice. In 2000, he became head of the compensation program, supervising the implementation of the payments and the cooperation with the partner organizations on behalfof the EVZ Foundation. In 2003, he was nominated Co-Director of the EVZ Foundation, whichby then had widened its operations beyond the ongoing compensation of former forced laborers.Saathoff has worked for several non-governmental organizations and is the author of severalpublications. As an expert on the topic of historical injustice he has given many lectures abroad. He studied politics, sociology, law, and education. Uta Gerlant is a historian who worked for the EVZ Foundation from 2001 to 2016. She worked with the partner organizations in Poland and Ukraine during the implementation of the compensation payments and liaised with all partner organizations regarding the implementation of humanitarian programs financed by leftover funds. From 2008 to 2016 she was advisor to the Board of Directors of the EVZ Foundation. Since the early 1980s, Gerlant has been involved in different peace initiatives and working groups on dealing with the past.After volunteering with Memorial in Sankt Petersburg, Russia, she co-founded Memorial Germany (a member of the International Memorial Network) in 1993 and was part of its executive board for over ten years. Gerlant holds an M.A. in Eastern European History, Philosophy, and Political Science from the Free University Berlin. Currently, she directs the foundation Stiftung Gedenkstätte Lindenstraße, a memorial site at the place of a former prison in Potsdam. Friederike Mieth is a social and cultural anthropologist with a specialization in peace and conflict studies. She coordinated the publication of this volume as an external advisor. Her Research interests focus on transitional justice, human rights, and social transformation. She has published about everyday practices of dealing with the past in Sierra Leone, as well as the impact and acceptance of transitional justice mechanisms on a broader level. Mieth was a Research Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy, Berlin, in 2016/17, and previously worked for the InternationalNuremberg Principles Academy, the Center for Conflict Studies of the Philipps University Marburg, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She completed her Ph.D. at the Philipps University Marburg in 2014 and is a co-editor of Transitional Justice Theories (Routledge, 2014). Norbert Wühler is a lawyer with over 30 years of experience in national and international Claims and reparation programs and was the Director of the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme at the International Organization for Migration (IOM). He was Legal Adviser to the President of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, Head of the Legal Service of the United Nations Compensation Commission, and Director of the Reparations Department of the IOM. He provided legal and policy advice on the design, and directed the implementation of claims and reparation programs in, inter alia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Guatemala, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Yemen, and he served as a member of the Kosovo Property Claims Commission. He holds a Ph.D. in Law from Heidelberg University and is currently Chair of the Appeal Board of the World Intellectual Property Organization.