Nazi-Era Laborers Decry Payment Delay
BERLIN — Nazi-era slave laborers expressed anger Thursday at a legal hitch that will delay payments from a huge compensation fund set up last year by the German government and industry.
“Some people are probably seeking a biological solution to this problem,†said Adam Koenig, 78, a Berlin Jew forced to work in Auschwitz for IG Farben, whose subsidiary made Zyklon B gas for death camps. “Every day old people, those over 75 and 80, are dying.
“In the Czech Republic, where 80,000 claimants live, 15 people die every day. You can imagine how long it would be until none survive anymore,†he said.
Officials say some companies are waiting for the U.S. courts to drop all pending Holocaust-related lawsuits before they contribute to the 10-billion-mark, or $4.8-billion, fund, half of which is to be paid by the German government and half by industry.
But on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram refused to dismiss Holocaust-related suits.
In return for agreeing to pay reparations, Germany has insisted that all Holocaust-related suits be dropped.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
