Compensation in the GDR

In the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ), from which the GDR emerged in 1949, “Wiedergutmachung” (reparation) meant payments to the Soviet Union. Individual compensation for physical injury or restitution for property losses played little role. Neither the Soviet occupying power nor the KPD leadership exiled to Moscow had developed concepts for this. In their ideological view, National Socialism was a variant of fascism, and thus a bourgeois form of rule. Priority was given to building a socialist society, in order to prevent the return of National Socialism.

Benefits could initially only be claimed by those who had fought National Socialism before 1945 and had since contributed to building an “anti-fascist” society. The aim was not to compensate for injustice suffered, but to reward political commitment. Hence there was no legal entitlement to compensation; indeed, political misconduct – or departure from the GDR – could lead to withdrawal of benefits. The further development of compensation policy was shaped not least by power struggles within the KPD/SED. Resistance fighters who had remained in the Reich during the Nazi era stood opposed to the group around Walter Ulbricht, who had gone into exile in Moscow.

Immediately after the war, it was often the victims themselves – above all political resistance fighters – who founded aid committees for “Victims of Fascism” (OdF). These were later integrated into municipal administration as OdF committees. They were responsible for recognizing OdF and providing for them, which at first covered only the essentials: OdF received more food and better medical care, and were given preference in the allocation of jobs and housing.

The Berlin OdF main committee initially recognized only resistance fighters as OdF. Only under pressure from the Western AlliesTerm for the North American and Western European victorious powers and wartime opponents of the German Reich, Italy, and Japan. This included the USA, France, and Great Britain. was the circle gradually expanded. Its recognition guidelines of May 1946 extended OdF status – in addition to resistance fighters and Jewish victims – to those persecuted for minor political offenses (such as “undermining military morale” or “malicious criticism”), Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Sinti and Roma persecuted “for racial or anti-fascist reasons.” In practice, however, these groups often struggled to be recognized, since decisions remained in the hands of OdF committees dominated by resistance fighters. Moreover, the guidelines strictly distinguished between “fighters against fascism” and “victims of fascism.” Only “fighters” were entitled to a one-time payment of 450 Reichsmarks. As in the western zones, homosexuals, those deemed “asocial,” victims of forced sterilization, and those convicted by criminal courts remained excluded.

Only on 5 October 1949, two days before the founding of the GDR, was a binding regulation on compensation introduced for the entire SBZ. The “Order to Secure the Legal Status of Recognized Victims of the Nazi Regime,” or “VdN Order,” not only replaced the OdF term with “Victims of the Nazi Regime” (VdN), but also abolished the distinction between victims and fighters. This amounted to a symbolic downgrading of the latter. Yet they retained an important power base: their association, the Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes (Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime) VVN), was granted the right to oversee the work of state VdN offices and to decide their staffing.

In the following years, pensions and medical benefits became increasingly important. Since 1949, VdN were entitled to semi-annual medical examinations and up to two years of treatment in sanatoria. If they became unable to work due to age or health, they were entitled to pensions regardless of prior contributions to the insurance system. Unlike in the Federal Republic, they did not have to prove that their health impairment was caused by Nazi persecution. The VdN Order also lowered their retirement age by five years – to 60 for men and 55 for women.

On 10 February 1950 the GDR enacted binding recognition guidelines. The circle of VdN was again expanded. Politically sensitive was the inclusion of Wehrmacht soldiers who had joined the “National Committee Free Germany” (NKFD) or the “League of German Officers” (BDO) while in Soviet captivity. At the same time, members of the non-communist resistance – especially church groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and participants in the 20 July plot – risked losing their VdN status. On SED orders, district review committees subjected all VdN to scrutiny from 1950 onward. Thousands lost their status.

The driving force behind these reviews was the VVN, which sought to exclude those it deemed unworthy. The SED, however, was primarily concerned with financial savings. By 1953, 40,622 persons were recognized as VdN, including 10,511 surviving dependents. The state spent 40 million marks annually on their support, while reparations to the Soviet Union amounted to about 3.3 billion marks per year.

Many resistance fighters were dissatisfied with their pensions, which were calculated based on annual earnings in the twelve months before retirement or before persecution began. Thus, workers’ pensions were significantly lower than those of self-employed, salaried employees, or civil servants. Some had taken on important positions in 1945 but had to relinquish them due to health problems caused by persecution. If their subsequent employment was lower paid, their pension level dropped. The VVN repeatedly denounced such injustices.

In February 1953 the SED forced the VVN to dissolve itself. Priority now lay in integrating former NSDAP members. A strong victims’ association was an obstacle to this purpose. Only from the late 1950s were resistance fighters again accorded greater public recognition—though not as a political elite, but as symbols of antifascism.

“… when father was paraded around”

In 1957 the VdN minimum pension rose to 350 marks, and for surviving dependents to 200 marks. A year later the GDR awarded former resistance fighters the honorary medal “Fighter against Fascism 1933–1945.” This distinction carried an annual honorarium of 500 marks, provided the recipient’s monthly income was below that sum.

The situation of VdN improved markedly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. In 1965 the GDR leadership approved an honorary pension paid in addition to the regular pension. “Fighters against Fascism” received 800 marks monthly, “Victims of Fascism” 600 marks. Compared to the average old-age pension of about 164 marks, both were substantial sums.

“… that VdN sometimes competed with one another”

From 1 January 1976 the GDR, with few exceptions, no longer recognized new VdN. Attempts by relatives to obtain VdN status without personal experience of persecution also failed.

“… logically victims of fascism”

Honorary pensions were increased several times until 1990 and continued to be paid in the Federal Republic.