By Morris Malakoff, JTNews Correspondent
Klaus Stern’s life is the embodiment of the term “Kafkaesque.” He wonders if a Germany that tormented him under the Nazi regime is continuing to do the same thing decades later, despite the political changes that have evolved in the intervening decades.
Now 89 years old and living in Seattle, he grew up in pre-war Berlin. When the Nazi party came to power, he found himself out of work.
“There was a farm about 80 miles away that was set up by Jews to train Jews how to farm,” he said. “My brother and I went there because we needed a skill.”
When the war broke out in 1939, the Gestapo took over the farm.
“We worked 10 to 12 hours a day for room and board,” Stern said. “In the summer, we worked longer days.”
Within a few years, he found himself shipped off to Auschwitz, where he was “liberated” by Soviet troops.
“It was not really liberation,” he said. “We were taken on a death march from camp to camp.”
He was truly liberated by U.S. troops in 1945 and moved shortly afterward to Seattle.
Half a century later, a decision by the German courts opened the door for possible reparations to those who worked in ghettos and camps.
But the programs have not lived up to the promises and with each passing day, death removes survivors from the rolls of the eligible.
Stern applied under a program known as GWPP and was denied.
“They said that since I went to the farm voluntarily, I was not eligible, though once the Gestapo took over it was not voluntary,” he said.
In 2009, another German court decision re-opened the possibility of compensation for people like Stern when it ruled that those who worked voluntarily were now eligible for a program called ZRBG. That program offers a pension or a one-time lump sum payment.
According to Jane Relin, Clinical Director at Jewish Family Service of Greater Seattle, the local agency heading up the effort to identify possible claimants and assist them in filing a claim, the latest opening is hopeful but appears to tread a well-worn path in the lives of survivors.
“From these claims to reclaiming life insurance and bank accounts, it has been a struggle,” she said. “It also compounds the pain for many survivors because they are forced to retell the stories of the worst years of their lives.”
Success has been measured in small numbers, with only a handful of accepted claims. Despite that, advocates for survivors are urging anyone who was previously rejected, like Stern, to re-apply.
Bet Tzedek, a Los Angeles-based social service agency has long been involved in the effort, going back to the first wave of claims.
“They have gone to law firms around the country and gotten them to offer their services pro bono to survivors as they fill out the required paperwork and file claims,” said Relin.
In Washington, JFS is working to connect area survivors with Bet Tzedek.
JFS will screen survivors to see whether they are likely eligible, then connect the person with an attorney in the area. Locally, the law firms of Davis Wright Tremaine as well as Foster Pepper and Perkins Coie have stepped forward to be a part of the effort.
As for Klaus Stern, he is skeptical about trying again.
“It is a lot of effort for maybe $2,500,” said the retired bakery employee. “I think they [the German government] are hoping we all die off and they can put it all behind them.”
If you believe you or someone you know may be eligible as a “voluntary” ghetto worker in Nazi Germany or occupied territories, contact Adam Halpern at JFS at 206-861-3152 or ahalpern@jfsseattle.org.