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French Government Decree of July 13, 2000: Indemnification of Orphans
Introduction
Summary of Decree
Information and advice about application
Introduction
This decree marked the successful conclusion of a 5-year campaign by Serge Klarsfeld to have the French government provide a measure of reparation for orphans whose parents were victims of anti-Semitic persecutions. As an appointed member of the French Matteoli Commission, charged with studying the question of 'spoils' taken from Jews and making recommendations, Klarsfeld took the firm position that before indemnifying the heirs of material goods, it was necessary to indemnify victims who lost one or both parents. Many of the Jewish families were very poor, and the death of parents left children without resources for their own care.
Approximately 10,000 orphans will benefit from this measure. Each will have the choice between a life indemnity of 3,000 francs a month ($400), or a lump sum of 180,000 francs ($24,000).
Summary of Decree # 2000-657, July 13, 2000
Instituting a measure of reparation for orphans whose parents were victims of anti-Semitic persecutions
Article 1: Each person whose mother or father was deported from France in the course of anti-Semitic persecutions during the Occupation, and who died in deportation, is entitled to a measure of compensation under this decree, if he or she was under age 21 at the time of the deportation. Anyone receiving a life indemnity from Germany or Austria for the same reason is excluded from the benefit of the decree.
Article 2: The beneficiary may choose between a single lump-sum indemnity of 180,000 francs or a life compensation of 3,000 francs a month.
Article 3: Persons to whom Article 1 applies must make application ('address a demand') to the Ministry of Defense, (Division of Statutes, Pensions, and Social Reinsertion). If they reside in a foreign country, they may register their demand with the French embassy in their country of residence. The demand must contain all relevant documents showing the relation to the deceased parent and establishing that the death occurred during the deportation. The applicant must include a signed affidavit stating that he or she does not receive an indemnity from Germany or Austria in reparation for the deportation of one or both parents. The applicant must state whether he or she prefers the monthly (life) indemnity of the lump-sum (capital) indemnity.
Article 4: The Government has four months from the date of receipt of a demand containing all relevant documents to accord or refuse the measure of compensation.
Article 5: In the case of a favorable decision about a life indemnity, payments are due starting the first day of the month following the date that the demand was received. They stop the last day of the month that the beneficiary dies. For a favorable decision about a capital indemnity, payment is made in the quarter following. Payments are assured by the French Office of War Veterans and Victims of Wars, which receives funds for this purpose from the general services of the Prime Minister.
Article 6: The following officials have the responsibility for executing this decree, which shall be published in the official journal of the French Republic: Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, the Minister of Foreign Relations, the Minister of Defense, the State Secretary for the Budget, and the State Secretary of Defense in Charge of War Veterans.
Information and advice about application
Those who receive a German pension and who are orphans can sign an affidavit and make application. The German pension is a result of their health and the interruption of their studies, and not on the deportation of their parents.
The decree does not apply in certain cases even though the death of parents is the result of anti-Semitic persecutions, including where the Jewish parents died in French camps before being deported, or were executed before deportation. In a letter of July 20, 2000, I have asked the minister of Defense to address these situations.
Surviving deportees who were under 21 at the time of deportations of their parents can apply under this decree. Although they receive a pension due to their own deportation, they were also deprived of a parent or parents. The same applies to political internees who receive a pension.
A document attesting to the death or disappearance is required. Qualifying documents include:
an act of disappearance. If you do not have this, you can request it from the Minister of Defense, Archives Services, 14 rue St. Dominique, 75007 Paris.
a blue card of beneficiary of "political deportee" ("political" in this case meant "racial")
a judgment pronouncing death executed by the "tribunal d'instance" of the municipality or the district of the person deported. The act was delivered at the end of the 1940s; it indicated either the death in Drancy or in deportation, and even sometimes specifies death at Auschwitz.
If you do not have such a document, the name of the person deported listed in the book Memorial to the Jews Deported from France should be sufficient, especially if it comes with a card from the Drancy file showing the name of the deportee and the date of deportation. I have provided hundreds of those cards from the copies in my files. Should you need such a card, click on Inquiries to see how to proceed.
The choice between the 'life indemnity' and the 'capital indemnity' is a personal one. But I have asked the French government to make a priority in paying the life indemnities because of the intolerable situation of some of the orphans of Jews deported, who remained in misery through poverty. The payment of a life indemnity guarantees them against that misery. This was my essential preoccupation. A capital payment can be lost, but the life payments continue. Nonetheless, it is obvious that someone very sick, or someone with wealth, may prefer the capital indemnity for different reasons.
If you reside outside France, you may, but do not have to, contact the French embassy. It is better to write directly to the Director Of Statutes And Pensions of the Minister of Defense, Posted Box 552, 14037 Caen Cedex, France. Do not forget to indicate your bank and your account number.
There is no deadline for filing your claim, but since payment depends on the filing date, it is in your interest to apply as soon as you can.
--SK
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