Citizens Eligible For Nazi Reparations May Top 200

More than 200 Holocaust survivors who were U.S. citizens at that time may be eligible for reparations from the German government under a decision issued Tuesday by the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.

The panel, which is a quasi-judicial agency of the Justice Department, decided which categories of people would be eligible under a 1995 agreement with Germany and subsequent U.S. legislation.

After the government spent eight months seeking potential claimants, nearly 1,000 people filed claims for reparations by last February’s deadline. The commission estimated that more than 200 would meet the eligibility requirements of this decision.

“No one knows for sure how many Americans were held in Nazi concentration camps, much less how many still are living today,” said Delissa Ridgway, who chairs the commission. “When we began the claims program last year, we were told we would probably find only a dozen or so. The response to our outreach campaign has far exceeded all expectations.”

After taking public comments on its criteria for 15 days, the panel will begin reviewing each claim to certify which are eligible.

Once a list of claimants is certified, the State Department will negotiate a final settlement with Germany.