Laws :

Decree No 2000-657, 13 July 2000

Title
Decree No 2000-657

Date
13 July 2000

Summary  
The decree indemnifies orphans whose parents were victims of anti-semitic persecutions.

Law
Summary of Decree # 2000-657, July 13, 2000 instituting a measure of reparation for orphans whose parents were victims of anti-Semitic persecutions.

Article 1: Each person whose mother or father was deported from France in the course of anti-Semitic persecutions during the Occupation, and who died in deportation, is entitled to a measure of compensation under this decree, if he or she was under age 21 at the time of the deportation. Anyone receiving a life indemnity from Germany or Austria for the same reason is excluded from the benefit of the decree.

Article 2: The beneficiary may choose between a single lump-sum indemnity of 180,000 francs or a life compensation of 3,000 francs a month.

Article 3: Persons to whom Article 1 applies must make application ('address a demand') to the Ministry of Defense, (Division of Statutes, Pensions, and Social Reinsertion). If they reside in a foreign country, they may register their demand with the French embassy in their country of residence. The demand must contain all relevant documents showing the relation to the deceased parent and establishing that the death occurred during the deportation. The applicant must include a signed affidavit stating that he or she does not receive an indemnity from Germany or Austria in reparation for the deportation of one or both parents. The applicant must state whether he or she prefers the monthly (life) indemnity of the lump-sum (capital) indemnity.

Article 4: The Government has four months from the date of receipt of a demand containing all relevant documents to accord or refuse the measure of compensation.

Article 5: In the case of a favorable decision about a life indemnity, payments are due starting the first day of the month following the date that the demand was received. They stop the last day of the month that the beneficiary dies. For a favorable decision about a capital indemnity, payment is made in the quarter following. Payments are assured by the French Office of War Veterans and Victims of Wars, which receives funds for this purpose from the general services of the Prime Minister.

Article 6: The following officials have the responsibility for executing this decree, which shall be published in the official journal of the French Republic: Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, the Minister of Foreign Relations, the Minister of Defense, the State Secretary for the Budget, and the State Secretary of Defense in Charge of War Veterans.

Source
Beate Klarsfeld foundation,
<http://www.klarsfeld.org> accessed 16 July 2002.