History: SED victims in Berlin sometimes wait years for notifications

Commissioner Frank Ebert will hand over the 102-page report to Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) this Thursday. The report is also a topic in the plenary session of the House of Representatives.

“Sometimes for years – even when asked – no response”

According to the report, victims of criminal prosecutions that violated the rule of law also received no response from the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso), which is responsible for the final processing, for years when they applied for special benefits.

In September 2024, for example, a woman applied to Lageso for victim’s pension for her 94-year-old father. But even a year later, she had neither received a notice nor reached a contact person in the office. This is not an isolated case, as the report states: “Even when requests for recognition of persecution-related health damage, those affected receive no response for years, even when asked.”

A new federal law had significantly increased the benefits for those politically persecuted by the SED regime in the GDR; more people can benefit from it. It also simplifies the recognition of consequential health damage. Lageso provides information about benefits and application procedures on its website.

Gap in victims of forced doping

The commissioner also criticizes the fact that the law does not take all groups of victims into account – for example, victims of forced doping in the GDR, which sometimes caused massive physical damage to those affected.

The example given is a former rower from SC Dynamo Berlin, who was reduced to a medical test subject from the age of 12 without any explanation. She had to take hormone preparations and steroids for years at a children’s and youth sports school. Attempts to leave failed – she was threatened that she would lose her training place and her apartment.

It was also said that the changes to the law did not benefit those who were convicted in the GDR for “anti-sociality” under the Criminal Code (Section 249 of the GDR StGB).