DIE PRÄSIDENTEN

- a film about Steven Springfield
and Alexander Bergmann

LEGU

Latvian Jewish Society of former prisoners of ghetto and concentration camps:

The LEGU is an association founded by Holocaust survivors in Latvia. It was founded for helping eachother, and to fight for compensation from the German government. Otherwise, than their comrades in western countries, survivors in Eastern Europe didn'nt get any compensation from Germany for a long time. Alexander Bergmann became the head of LEGU in 1993. Maybee he, as a lawer, could fight better for compensation? But several attempts in the german parliament Bundestag run aground.

Only since Mr. Bergmann traveled to the USA, spoke to the American Jewish Commitee (AJC), and even 83 Senators appealed to the former chancellor Helmut Kohl, things changed: Alexander Bergmann became the official representative of the Eastern European survivors in Bonn and spoke to the Deutscher Bundestag. At least the survivors get a monthly pension about 250 Marks (125 Euro) from Germany.

In the beginning there were 140 members of the LEGU, now there are only 60 people. Many of them emmigrated into occupied Latvia after the war from Russia, Whiterussia, Ukraine and other republics of the former Sowjetunion. Their average age is 77 years now. Many of them needs medical treatment, which is verry expencive in Latvia today. The LEGU is organizing medicines, glasses, artificial teeth and so on. There for the survivors of the Holocaust need your donation now.

The LEGU is also helping latvian saviours, who saved Jews during the Holocaust, and widows of survivors. LEGU is working together closely with its partner association in New York, the Jewish Survivors of Latvia.

More about the shameful history of german compensations see in an article by Winfried Nachtwei, Member of the German parliament: Holocaust-Überlebende im Baltikum.

contact:
LEGU
Rupniecibas Iela 9 dz13
Riga, LV 1010
Latvia