Heirs of a deceased claimant must inform IOM immediately and at the latest six months after the date of the victim's death

All claimants should inform IOM in writing of any changes regarding their addresses or names.

Fact Sheet on the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme - March 2004

On 12 August 2000, a German law, German Foundation Act (GFA) , came into force, creating a German Foundation entitled "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future", to provide financial compensation to former slave and forced labourers and certain other victims of National Socialist (Nazi) injustice. The funds for this German Foundation, a total amount of EUR 5.1 billion (DEM 10 billion), were made available in equal parts by the German Government and German companies.

Pursuant to the German Foundation Act, seven partner organizations, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are processing claims for payment relating to Slave Labour, Forced Labour and Personal Injury (medical experiments, child lodged in a home for children of slave or forced labourers or death of a child in such children's homes).

IOM has also been designated under the German Foundation Act to be the sole partner organization responsible for processing claims for Property Loss suffered under the Nazi regime as a result of direct participation of German companies.

For all claim categories under the German Foundation Act, the extended filing deadline expired on 31 December 2001. No new claims can be accepted.

Under the German Foundation Act, IOM has been allocated EUR 276 million (DEM 540 million) to pay eligible claimants for Slave and Forced Labour and EUR 102.3 (DEM 200 million) to pay eligible claimants for Property Loss. EUR 25.6 (DEM 50 million) has been allocated across all seven partner organizations to pay eligible claimants for Personal Injury.

In the framework of its German Forced Labour Compensation Programme (GFLCP), IOM received 329,000 claims for Slave and Forced Labour, 32,000 claims for Property Loss and 41,000 claims for Personal Injury. As of January 2004, IOM had resolved 80% of all Slave and Forced Labour claims and had recommended 77,500 claims for payment. The Organization had also resolved all Personal Injury claims and 40% of the Property Loss claims.

Under the German Foundation Act, IOM was also designated to develop and implement social programmes for the benefit of Sinti and Roma who were victims of Nazi injustice. IOM’s Humanitarian and Social Programmes (HSP) also use funds made available through the Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation (Swiss Banks) for humanitarian and social assistance to Roma, Jehovah's Witness, disabled and homosexual survivors. In the HSP framework, IOM has since 2002 committed over USD 32 million to support more than 73,000 elderly and needy survivors of Nazi persecution in 17 countries. German Foundation funded project activities ended in June 2005; all HSP project activities are scheduled to conclude in January 2006.


All claimants will be notified in writing as soon as a decision on their claim(s) has been taken. IOM aims at completing the processing of all 400,000 claims received by the end of 2004. According to the GFA, second instalment payments cannot be made before all eligible claimants have received their first instalment payment. IOM expects to be able to pay the second instalments in spring 2005.

If a victim dies after having filed a claim, eligible heirs must contact IOM as soon as possible but no later than 6 months after the date of the death. If the heirs miss this deadline, the claim is unfortunately no longer valid.

For queries on claim status and payments please contact the IOM Compensation Programmes Hotline. The telephone number is 0041-22-5928230, and is available Monday through Friday from 7.00am - 7.00pm for English and French and from 9.00 - 12.30am and 2.00 - 5.00pm for other languages.

The German Foundation Act recognizes that the injustices committed and the human sufferings caused cannot be truly compensated by financial payments and that the Act comes too late for those who lost their lives as victims of the Nazi regime or have died in the meantime.