Few Nazi crimes suspects lost pensions, review reveals
Source: Associated Press
David Rising, Associated Press
Updated 4:06 pm, Tuesday, November 22, 2016
BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of Nazi war crimes suspects may have been able to continue receiving disability pensions despite a law passed nearly two decades ago ordering them revoked, according to an official review quietly published Tuesday.
The review, commissioned by the Labor Ministry and posted on its website, found that only 99 people lost their payments after it was concluded that they had participated in "crimes against the principles of humanity."
It said that several factors led to the poor success rate, including the sheer scale of reviewing tens of thousands of cases, the lack of digitization of key files, legal challenges and, in some cases, apathy in implementing the law.
When the law was passed in 1998, the expectation was that up to 50,000 people would lose their pensions, the report said. But the review found only 99. The research covered the years 1998-2013 but no more have been removed since then.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Few-Nazi-crimes-suspects-lost-pensions-review-10630017.php
