The history of forced labor shall be remembered even after the long-overdue financial compensation.

It took decades for governments and companies to address the issue of compensation for the former forced laborers. It was not until the end of the 1990s, compelled by political pressure from the USA, that the state- and private industry-funded “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” Foundation was established.

The victims who had to perform forced labor each received a one-time payment of between 500 and 7,700 Euros, depending on the severity of the victim’s fate. Prisoners of war were not eligible for benefits. More details are shown in the German-language Interactive Map Compensation that was prepared for the educational material.

The compensation effort was not, however, supposed to be regarded as a moral closure. Even after the payments were concluded in 2007, the remembrance of Nazi forced labor shall continue to be kept alive for future generations. Therefore, the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” has initiated the collection of the life stories of former forced laborers.

• Creation of the Interview Collection
• Compensation Background