The junior partner in the conservative government of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said this week that it would look into finding a way to stop Nazi war criminals from receiving German state pensions.
Leaders of the Free Democratic Party also said Sunday that their first step would be to consult legal experts.
Earlier, the Labor Ministry had confirmed a television report that state- financed pensions had been issued to people directly involved in the Holocaust.
Such pensions have been paid since 1950 to individuals who suffered from injuries or “other hardships” during World War II, the ministry said.
A ministry spokesman said, “We didn’t look into the criminal record of the beneficiaries, or into their possible involvement in Nazi crimes.”
Others receiving the pension include Nazi criminals in the United States, South America, Australia and elsewhere.
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