German pensions paid to Belgian SS Volunteers

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To receive a Belgian former members of the Waffen-SS pensions from Germany. An Initiative of the Belgian Parliament wants to stop it. But the chances are bad.

Poster of the Belgian Waffen-SS

Only about 30 men are alive, all are well over 90. And you get a regular monthly pension from Germany. It comes to amounts of between 425 and 1275 Euro, the Belgian Nazi researcher Alvin de Coninck. In an interview with the Belgian newspaper “De Morgen” de Coninck, a shocking comparison: years, the has spent, a Belgian, who was in the Waffen-SS, “because of collaboration in a Belgian prison cell, were (in the calculation of the pension, d. Red.) credited, while the Belgians, who have worked during the war as forced laborers in Germany were after the war, compensation of 50 euros per month.”

After the German invasion of France, Belgium and other countries, had Adolf Hitler let by “leaders”, that the foreigners who fought as volunteer members of the Waffen-SS on the German side, had claims of Supply. The Mainz historian Martin Göllnitz explained in an interview with Deutsche Welle that “the Waffen-SS from 1. January 1940 for the purposes of the Wehrmacht was deployed and, therefore, as members of the NSDAP (national socialist German workers ‘ party) has been considered, but as the servants of the German Empire. And, accordingly, also a pension to the relatives of the Waffen-SS.”

Hitler inspects SS troops. In the war, including foreigners, who volunteered for the Waffen-SS.

You had to make a supply claim, like any other military soldier makes, regardless of what nationality he was. How big is the global number of recipients is today and from which countries they come from, according to Gelnica hard to say. However, in Latvia the mid-90s had around 1500 former Waffen-SS members get benefits under the Federal social security act.

Also, previous Attempts have failed

To light the payments to the Belgian SS were veterans by the end of 2016 by the organization “group memory”, for which de Coninck works. At that time, the Belgian Parliament also tried to get from the German authorities the names of the recipients and to move them to adjust the payments. A Small request, the link members Ulla Jelpke in the Bundestag, it was two years ago: “The Federal government may transmit any data of recipients of benefits under the Federal social security law – the BVG. Because their is no evidence about the extent to which recipients residing in Belgium at the same time, former Belgian Waffen-SS Volunteers, or any other, in part as a military collaborators convicted persons. The reason for this is that the LPP – including the supply of Legitimate abroad – carried out by the countries.”

Now try it three Belgian deputies re: Olivier Maingain, head of the party Démocrate Fédéraliste Indépendant, and two socialists. You call in a template for the foreign policy Committee of the Parliament to end this “completely unacceptable Situation” and to solve the Problem, “a diplomatic way”. Maingain says, the Germans blocked so far a solution: “The names of these persons are to the German Ambassador here, but you will not be passed on to the Belgian Central government, therefore, no tax policy measures can be taken.” Maingain believes, therefore, that the pensions accruing to the beneficiaries tax-free.

The social insurance is value-neutral

Martin Göllnitz but major legal hurdles for Maingains concerns: “In contrast to the disciplinary, real of the professional civil service, the social insurance law, Yes the power supply claims to run, in principle, free of sanctions for criminal acts. The background is that the social insurance is based on the principle of value neutrality.”

Latvian Waffen SS veterans at a commemorative March in Riga in 2015

It is not so, there would have been no Attempts to prevent pension payments to members of the SS. In a “law for the Amendment of the Federal supply act,” from 14. In January 1998, it is about the claims of ex-soldiers, the services were then to fail, if the the reign of national socialism, has failed to Authorized “against the principles of humanity or rule of law”. An indication could result, in particular, “from a voluntary membership of Eligible voters in the SS”. However, the Change applies only to applications for benefits, the after the 13. November 1997. As the applications concerned, almost all of them decades ago, is as good as none of the payment recipients affected. The link politician Ulla Jelpke, writes Deutsche Welle: “in fact, only 99 persons of that time 940.000, i.e., only 0.01 percent were excluded. It is obvious that only a fraction of the war crimes has been determined.”

The Belgian deputies will be successful this time, don’t believe Gelnica, if only because every individual case would have to be tested, because members of the Waffen-SS were not per se war crimes. “I think that you will silently expire.”