The chairman of the foundation’s board, Michael Jansen, who was re-elected to this post, told Deutsche Welle about the current state of the compensation payment process: “By the beginning of September of this year, our foundation had paid compensation to approximately 1.45 million people living in nearly 80 countries around the world. As for our seven foreign partners, the Czech side completed payment of the first tranche in June of this year and began paying the second. The Belarusian and Polish sides will begin paying the first tranche in October. As for other partners, including the Ukrainian ones, we assume that they will complete payment of the first tranche this year and begin paying the second next year. As for the Russian side, it has a new chairman, Mr. Voikov, with whom we have been talking very actively all these days. We will try to ensure that Russia completes all payments under the first tranche by the middle of next year. Our foundation wants to complete the transfer of all funds to foreign partners by mid-2005.”
Michael Jansen partially dispelled the fears of those who believe that the available funds may not be enough to pay compensation to everyone entitled to it: “The situation is that 10.1 billion marks are already at the disposal of our foundation, and after the next applications for compensation are processed, part of the amount is transferred on. Of course, the foundation receives interest on the funds it currently holds. According to our data, the money we have is sufficient to pay compensation to persons classified in categories A and B, that is, former concentration camp prisoners and those deported to forced labor. If a person belongs to one of these categories, he can be sure that he will receive the amount due to him. A problem may arise only with those who belong to other categories of victims of Nazism. They can count on receiving compensation only after the first two categories have been paid.”
With financial support from the Remembrance, Responsibility and Future foundation, as Michael Jansen reported, relatives and descendants of forced laborers and other victims of Nazism can undergo one year of study at Berlin universities, including Humboldt University and the Higher School of Economics. A total of 943 million euros has been allocated to finance the scholarship program, initially planned for a three-year term. In this winter semester, 30 people from Eastern European countries, as well as Israel and the United States, will begin their studies. This group of students has already arrived in Germany. In order for them to get an idea of present-day Germany, they are offered, in addition to the academic program, participation in language courses, experience-exchange seminars, and excursions.
And finally, about personnel changes in the German foundation. Joining its board of directors, replacing former Israeli ambassador to Germany Avi Primor and former head of the German embassy in Poland Johannes Bauch, are Günter Saathoff and Ulrich Bopp. Saathoff previously held the position of managing director of the Remembrance, Responsibility and Future foundation, and before that was the coordinator of the Green parliamentary group on internal policy and legal affairs. Bopp, in turn, was the managing director of the Robert Bosch Foundation.