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Furniture firm Ikea will reportedly pay 70M kroners ($6.M) as reparations to political prisoners of the erstwhile German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, whom it used as forced labor in the 1970s-80s. Ikea's exploitation was revealed in 2012 by the SVT television network.

Le Monde.fr

Agenzia Nova

The Swedish company has reportedly handed over a declaration of intent in this regard to Evelyn Zupke, the German government commissioner handling affairs related to injustices in former East Germany. The German parliament will soon vote on the establishment of the fund.

SVT showed that Ikea sourced from furniture makers who employed prisoners and the Swedish firm's top management knew about it. Its founder Ingvar Kamprad had claimed that only one supplier was involved. Often, the prisoner-made goods were exchanged for West German hard currency.

The Times

An independent E&Y probe, too, confirmed in 2012 that political prisoners made furniture for Ikea during the Cold War. In 2021, Germany’s ruling coalition mooted a national fund for the survivors. Ikea Germany CEO Walter Kadnar Tuesday said “we deeply regret that this happened.”

Fortune Europe

A "distinctly grateful" Zupke said Ikea's $6.5M is "an expression of a conscientious approach" to affairs of the "darker chapters" of its history. Dieter Dombrowski, heads of a former political prisoners' group, hoped other firms would emulate Ikea’s “groundbreaking” decision.

Dw.Com

European Interest

Ikea and German budget retailer Aldi Nord were among the other western companies that reportedly exploited the prisoners — 15K-30K a year by some estimates — jailed by East Germany's notorious Stasi secret police for "crimes" of opposing the one-party communist state.

IKEA to Pay East German Prisoners €6M For Forced Labor Exploitation

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IKEA to Pay East German Prisoners €6M For Forced Labor Exploitation

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