GERMAN GOVERNMENT DENIES JEWISH GHETTO WORKERS THEIR PENSIONS.

 photo Krakow Ghetto : Spiegel

Tensions are brewing between Germany and Israel over Germany's Bundestag decision to reject a measure that would have compensated Jewish ghetto workers who labored under nazi rule. and enabled them to receive a meager pension award.

The representatives of the left wing party argued against the Bundestag decision, declaring that it was wrong for Germany to deny the ghetto survivors what amounts to a few thousand Euro in retroactive pensions. The representatives of the green party too raised objections and called the decision shameful.

When the decision to award these pensions was made years before, almost 90% of applications were rejected. Officials raised the objections that most of these workers had asked to work voluntarily and some had received remuneration while in the ghetto.

In 2009 the law that required that only people who had worked 'voluntarily' in the ghetto to receive such pensions awards was struck down, but those who cheered were quickly disappointed as their pensions became retroactive not to 1997 as initially allowed, but only for he four years prior.

However all that is now moot, since even that small measure has been rejected. It was rejected by Merkel's coalition citing the fact that the measure had become legally too complicated to interpret and that the coalition was sorry for not being able to offer this relief to the surviving laborers.

The Israeli Ambassador to Germany expressed his dismay at the Bundestag's decision by saying that "legitimate demands of former Jewish ghetto laborers" were made to the German government. "The survivors expect that there will be a moral and legal solution before it is too late," he added.  Most survivors are indeed very old, and any delay could mean that they would never see the money that promised them.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning to put pressure on Chancellor Merkel when they are scheduled to speak next. The Knesset on their part is angered and has expressed their doubts on the rejection, when at the same time, Germany has approved billions in bailout funds for Greece.

source : Spiegel 3.24.13