German Companies Participating in the
Forced/Slave Labor Compensation Fund

(As of July 8, 2000)

The German industry initiative to create a foundation with the name "Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future" was started in February 1999. The foundation will pursue the objective of lending assistance to former forced laborers and others who suffered particular hardships at the hands of the Nazi regime and are still alive today. It will also deal with cases involving property losses as well as all other cases of Nazi crimes associated with industry.

The Foundation Initiative member companies have assumed a historical and moral responsibility on behalf of German industry. Many of them did not exist until after war. Their intention is not to make a confession of guilt but rather to create a strong symbol of reconciliation. In addition to its purpose of providing humanitarian assistance, the foundation will have a Future Fund from which it will provide funding for projects that promote international understanding and global respect of human rights. The foundation will be endowed with DM 10 billion, half of which is to be provided by German industry and half by the German government.

This joint effort is aimed at guaranteeing that all German companies, including foreign affiliates and parent companies, will be protected against lawsuits relating to the Nazi era and that they will be able to work on international markets under conditions of comprehensive and lasting legal security.

When corporate groups join the initiative their subsidiaries are automatically included. A total of 3,527 firms, including those not publicly presented, are members of the German Economy Foundation Initiative: Steering Group.

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