Providing Compensation To Nazi Victims @ (NAPSA)—Individuals who were victims of National Socialist (Nazi) injustice during the 1930s and 1940s might be entitled to compensation. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) makes payments under two compensation pro- grammes. The deadline for submitting claims is December 31, 2001. The German Forced Labour Compensation Programme Following the rules and guidelines set by the German Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”, IOM handles all claims of non-Jewish victims who reside in the Americas and compensates: Persons who were held in a concentration camp and per- formed slave labour; Persons who were deported to Germany or a German-occupied area, and were held in extremely harsh living conditions and performed forced labour for German companies, the Nazi regime or in agriculture; Persons who suffered personal injury (medical experiments, the loss of a child, severe health damage); Victims (and their heirs) who suffered property loss with direct participation of German enterprises. Western European claimants are only eligible if they were detained in a concentration camp or labour camps attached to firms. Prisoners of War and Italian Military Internees (IMIs) are excluded from payment unless they were detained in a concentration camp. The Holocaust Victim Assets Programme (Swiss Banks) In the framework of the settlement reached by Holocaust victims and Swiss Banks, IOM handles the compensation of three classes of claimants: Persons who were persecuted or targeted for persecution because they were or were believed to be Roma, Jehovah’s Wit- ness, homosexual, or physically or mentally handicapped, and who performed slave labour (Slave Labour Class I); Persons who belong to the same persecuted groups and were denied entry into Switzerland or were mistreated there as refugees during the period 1 January 1933 to 9 May 1945 (Refugee Class); All persons who performed slave labour for Swiss companies (Slave Labour Class IT). Under both programmes, heirs are only entitled to claim if the victim died on or after 16 February 1999. If a victim dies after having filed a claim, the heirs must inform IOM within six months after the date of death. For more information call the IOM Hotline at 1-866-443-5187, check the Internet at www.iom.int or contact the IOM, 1752 N Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washing- ton, DC 20036. Persons who already filed a claim with IOM should refrain from calling again.
