Former forced laborers must file applications (05/27/01)

Former forced laborers must file applications

by Myroslaw Smorodsky

RUTHERFORD, N.J. - On October 24, 2000, Austria agreed to compensate former slave and forced laborers of World War II who were deported from their homelands to what is now the territory of Austria. Those former forced laborers who reside in Belarus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Ukraine will file applications through the reconciliation funds located in those countries.

Former slave and forced laborers who reside in the West must file their applications with: Austrian Reconciliation Fund, P.O. Box 44, A-1011 Vienna, Austria.

Official application forms may be obtained directly from the Austrian Reconciliation Fund at the above address or from the Reconciliation Fund's website at http://www.reconciliationfund.at.

Readers may also contact the Austrian Embassy in their countries. The Austrian Embassy in the United States is located at 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3027; phone, (202) 895-6700; fax, (202) 895-6750. Application forms are available at http://www.brama.com or at http://smorodsky.com/forcedlabor.

All applications must be filed with the Austrian Reconciliation Fund by February 15, 2002, two years from the enactment of the Austrian reconciliation law.

Although all survey forms submitted by Austrian slave and forced laborers with this writer at the law firm Smorodsky Stawnychy or the International Organization for Migration are being forwarded to the Austrian Reconsideration Fund, each victim must complete the official forms in order to qualify. It is recommended that all former Austrian forced laborers file the official applications with the Austrian Reconciliation Fund directly as soon as possible.

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