New hardship fund for SED victims: Hope for Saxony!

New hardship fund for SED victims: Hope for Saxony!

A groundbreaking step for the SED victims: On November 8, 2025, a new nationwide hardship fund was launched, which offers new perspectives, especially to those affected from Saxony. This fund represents an urgently needed addition to the existing compensation programs and is intended to ensure that the concerns of the over 250,000 victims of the SED dictatorship are adequately taken into account.

Nancy Aris, the Saxon state representative for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship, described the new fund as a promising opportunity to compensate those affected. The previous Saxon hardship fund has not been sufficient to cover all claims in recent years. After all, the victims include around 138,000 former children in care and 100,000 people who have suffered professional disadvantages due to the political situation.

Background to the victims

To illustrate the extent of the injustice: Last year, around 38,000 people received an SED victim's pension, and an additional 20,000 people received other types of support. These numbers not only reflect the large number of those affected, but also the deep wounds that the SED dictatorship left in society. The new fund is intended to help finally bring justice to the victims.

This fund offers hope for improved support and some compensation, especially for those affected in Saxony. It is important that society keeps the memories of this time alive and listens to those affected in order to promote the necessary processing and send a clear message to future generations.

A first step in the right direction

The introduction of this fund not only offers victims a new platform to assert their claims, but also raises awareness of the difficult history of the SED dictatorship. The road to compensation is often difficult, but with such initiatives the state shows that it is willing to recognize and correct the mistakes of the past.

In the long term, however, it remains to be seen how effective this fund will actually be and to what extent it can do justice to the many people who suffered under the dictatorship. It is important to carefully consider the next steps so that the compensation is not just on paper, but actually improves the lives of those affected. Let's look forward to seeing how the situation develops in the coming months.