Germany: No former SS getting pensions in Belgium

BERLIN – German authorities say no former Nazi SS soldiers are receiving disability pensions in Belgium, responding to concerns raised by lawmakers there.

The Labor Ministry said Wednesday that 18 people in Belgium are receiving war disability pensions but “there are no former members of the Waffen SS” among them.

The ministry checked records after the Belgian parliament’s foreign affairs commission responded to concerns voiced by lawmakers, agreeing “the Belgian government should ask Germany to end pensions for Belgian Nazi collaborators.”

When established in 1950 by West Germany, some 4.4 million people, both civilian and military, qualified for “victims of war” pensions.

In 1998 a law was passed to revoke those found to have participated in “crimes against the principles of humanity.”

A review in 2016 found only 99 had been removed though 2013.