Austrian forced labor talks progress quickly (05/28/00)

Austrian forced labor talks progress quickly

by Myroslaw Smorodsky

VIENNA - Representatives of five Central and East European countries - Belarus, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ukraine - successfully concluded their first plenary negotiating session with the Austrian government on the issue of compensation to forced laborers who were deported to Austria during World War II.

Unlike recent German negotiations, which had been protracted for over one year, the Austrian discussions were initiated in April on a bilateral basis with each country individually and will, in all probability, be concluded by July with payments to begin before year's end.

Austria has announced that it will not only pay former slave and forced laborers in industry, but it will also voluntarily pay farm workers. This is unlike the German settlement, which left compensation for farmers to the discretion of each participating country foundation.

In addition, women who gave birth while in forced labor will also be compensated as will children up to age 12 who accompanied their deported parents into Austria. Children under age 12 can claim the same amount as their parents.

The payment amounts are as follows (values based upon a 15/1 exchange ratio of the Austrian shilling to the U.S. dollar): slave laborers - 105,000 Austrian shillings, 15,000 DM, $7,000; forced industrial laborers - 35,000 shillings, 5,000 DM, $2,333; forced agricultural laborers - 20,000 shillings, 2,857 DM, $1,333; women who gave birth while in forced labor - 5,000 shillings, 715 DM, $333.

It is estimated that approximately 220,000 forced laborers who were deported into Austria are still alive and approximately 43,000 of the victims reside in Ukraine.

The Austrians will be able to achieve swift results only if they are able to separate the issue of compensation of slave and forced laborers from the property and insurance claims of the other victim claimants. The inclusion of all the various claims into one global settlement was the key factor that caused extensive time delays in the German settlement discussions. After the forced labor settlement is concluded, the Austrians will then attempt to resolve the property and insurance claims of other victims.

Observers note that the reconciliation foundations that presently exist in each country will distribute compensation to residents within the five Central and East European countries. Victims who reside outside these countries will be paid through an Austrian foundation. The Austrian government will provide global notice of the settlement, eligibility criteria and the registration process once negotiations have been concluded.

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