For indemnification purposes, Berlin Jews will be regarded as having been deprived of their Liberty during the period they were compelled by the Nazi regime to display the yellow “Star of David” on their outer clothing, according to a ruling just issued by Joachim Lipschitz, the new head of the city government’s Department of the Interior.
The ruling, which was concurred in by the city’s government and parliament, entitles wearers of the Nazi-imposed emblem to the same amount of compensation that is paid to Nazi victims because of illegal detention in jails or concentration camps, a little more than one dollar a day.
The new interpretation, which meets a demand that has been pressed by the local Jewish Community for many years, applies to Berlin only. In West Germany, no compensation is granted to Jews who were forced to proclaim themselves as outlaws by donning the conspicuous star with the word “Jude” in large Hebrew-looking letters. Jews whose residence was or is in West Berlin can now apply for indemnification covering the period they were forced to wear the “Star of David.”
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