Second Generation Holocaust Survivors Sue For Damages

A group representing thousands of children of Holocaust survivors filed a class-action lawsuit against the German government on Monday, demanding that Germany pay for their psychiatric care.

The plaintiffs, calling themselves second-generation Holocaust survivors, say the scars of the Nazi genocide on their parents have crossed generations. Many still live with an irrational fear of starvation and incapacitating bouts of depression, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit marks the very first time that the German government will be asked to take responsibility and to care for those of the second generation in Israel and indeed, worldwide, attorney Gideon Fisher said before filing the suit at the Tel Aviv District Court.

The suit seeks to set up a German-financed fund to pay for biweekly therapy sessions for 15,000 to 20,000 people, or about $10 million annually for three years.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/882429.html



I'm speechless.

 

If they were looking for some cash windfall I would be extremely skeptical, but as they are just looking for therapy, can you blame them? I'm interested in what others have to say.

 

can I sue google because my adsense sucks?
is there any lawyer who can help me?

 

Could you imagine having a parent that survived one of the Nazi camps? If so, could you in all good conscious compare that to your adsense sucking? I realize you were being funny, but I don't think there is much humor in this subject.

 

will be there any third, or even fourth generation will sue the german goverment?
can iraq people can sue (in future) us goverment?
or afganistan people?
can palestinians sue israel becuase they bomb they houses? killed their parent, childs etc, etc, etc.

 

I don't know, this is an interesting case. I can't help but believe the children of some of these survivors have suffered because their parents were subjected to some seriously inhumane actions.

On the other hand, how can you blame the current government of Germany for that?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court and may have some repercussions for some of the peoples you mentioned.

 

sorry, if i'm being harsh.
i'm just too skeptical for something like this.
many people in the world get hurt because of wars not only holocaust victims, just moving on, move forward... get on with your life.
i never heard that japanese people sue the us goverment for radiations effects that they have because of atomics bomb.

 

Not only that but the US put 120,000 Japanese in interment camps during the second world war. They sucked it up and drove on even though many of them lost everything. The US government did pay reparations to surviving internees in the early 90s but I have never heard about any reparations to their children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment

This will be an interesting case to watch.

 

i can accept that the 10 million a year for 3 years is a fair sum to ask and as it is for treatment, then it is not something they want as a cash sum for themselves.
what i cant accept is that they must be all over 40 years old and have not had treatment already.

 

All are nothing

when compared to Mao Zedong's atrocities to the chinese

according to an estimate,nearly

3,000,000-4,000,000 had died due to his stupid policies!

 

Please don't get me started on that and what he did to the Chinese people. Also, let's not forget what the Japanese did to the Chinese people during the invasion. As it stands, most nations would love to wash their hands of the blood that has been spent at the expense of the common man for the sake of a privileged few.

 

It reminds me of the worst Japanese rule

I have heard stories that Japanese tored the skins of chinese people and killed so many during the wars!

I do not know how these persons kill the innocent people ??

 

What they did to the Chinese rivals what the Germans did in my opinion. If you have not read about it you might be interested in what they did in NanJing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

Back to the topic at hand, do the children of those that have suffered deserve mental health treatment?

 

I think it is unfair those children to ask for money. Israel was compensated big from Germany.
As a matter of fact many more millions of people in Europe were killed by the Nazis.

And yes the relatives of the innocent Iraqis, palestinians, and afghanis who family members killed together with the bad guys can legaly sue Israel and US for damages.
Because many times the military new civilians will be killed. Killing civilians intentionally is a war crime. As bad as killing any innocent people from any natioanality.
No one should be above the international law.

 

What international law are referring to?

 

Don't you think killing civilians intentionally is against the law?
To get the specific law ask a lawyer. I am not a lawyer.

 

It is certainly against the law in my country, but you mentioned an "international law", and I was just wondering what you were referring to.

 

Also,

Why the innocent should pay for the guilty?

What do the Germans today have to do with the crimes of the Germans 60 years ago?

In the same way the blacks in US may ask the whites for "slavery" compensation.

I am against slavery. Why should I be punished for somebody else's crimes?

 

Those are great questions. It will be interesting to see what the judges in this case have to say on the matter.

 

I found something for you:

WAR CRIME​

2. For the purpose of this Statute, "war crimes" means:


(a) Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention:
(i) Wilful killing;
(ii) Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;

(iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health;

(iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;

(v) Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power;

(vi) Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial;

(vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement;

(viii) Taking of hostages.


(b) Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:

(i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
(ii) Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;

(iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;

(iv) Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;

(v) Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;

(vi) Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;

(vii) Making improper use of a flag of truce, of the flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy or of the United Nations, as well as of the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions, resulting in death or serious personal injury;

(viii) The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory;

(ix) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;

(x) Subjecting persons who are in the power of an adverse party to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;

(xi) Killing or wounding treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army;

(xii) Declaring that no quarter will be given;

(xiii) Destroying or seizing the enemy's property unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;

(xiv) Declaring abolished, suspended or inadmissible in a court of law the rights and actions of the nationals of the hostile party;

................. http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/585-08?OpenDocument