Romanians can now benefit from pensions for ghetto work

Certain Romanian citizens could benefit from a German law that foresees pension rights for those who worked in ghettos during the national socialist regime in Germany (1933-1945), including in ghettos located “in the area of national-socialist influence”, such as Romania, the German Embassy  informed in a press release on Thursday.

“The law according to which those who worked in a ghetto during the national socialist regime in Germany between 1933 and 1945 are entitled, under certain conditions, to a pension, the so-called ‘ghetto pension’ has been in force in Germany since 2002. But it was amended in 2014 so that now also ghettos placed ‘in the zone of national-socialist influence’ are taken into account, for instance the national territory of Romania at that time,” added the cited source.

The German Embassy underlines that the mentioned law refers to pensions awarded for that kind of work performed in a ghetto, and not to payments bearing the title of rewards or compensations. In case the person entitled to such a pension is deceased, his / her heirs can claim their rights only if the person has already filed a claim while still alive for benefiting from a ghetto pension or a general pension application after June 1, 2006. It is mentioned also that for all the pension rights it is necessary an experience of at least five years (60 months).