We assist people to get their rehabilitation, to be accepted victims of repression, to receive compensation (for having been imprisoned, for having been illegally taken away their property), and sometimes even to receive a confirmation that they are war veterans or victims of persecutions by the Nazis (deportations to Germany). This, of course, does not exactly comply with the profile of our organization and almost exceeds the limits of our competence; nevertheless, such cases quite often interrelate with eachother.
It goes without saying that we also help people to research the fate of their relatives, who „disappeared without trace“ after having been arrested. Among others we clear up where and when they died in the camps. In fact, this research runs parallel to the search for data and documents, which are usually necessary in order to finally obtain an official confirmation that these persons are being recognized victims of repression.
Do we help many people? In the course of a year, evidently, no fewer than a thousand people turn to us for advice or help. However, we do not know their exact number, since most of them we do not meet personally, not even once. If someone, who was exiled, requests our assistance in order to get his rehabilitation or a confirmation officially accepting him as victim of repression, than we usually ask him: „How many relatives are still alive?“ If, for example, this person has five brothers and sisters (excluding those who have already died), we say: „Please bring us the birth and marriage certificates of all those, whose family names have changed“. Quite often they then ask the question: don’t they have to come themselves? And we reply: „No, that is not necessary. But if you want to get these official certificates, then, of course, they will have to go to the social security department themselves“.