Ikea paid $6.5 million to East German prisoners forced to make furniture

IKEA will pay $6.5 million to a German government fund to compensate victims of forced labor in East Germany during the Cold War.

Political and criminal prisoners were forced to carry out IKEA furniture in the 1970s and 1980s under the communist regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

This industry practice was confirmed by an independent investigation by Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA, which found that IKEA employees were probably aware of the working conditions, CNN reported.

An investigation by accountants Ernst & Young found that IKEA used prisoners from East German labor camps. The company was originally denied the television report it says it knowingly used prisoners as forced labor.

In the East Germany, controlled by the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1990, tens of thousands of residents were jailed for opposing the state, and many companies profited from their forced labor.

The IKEA payment is the result of years of advocacy by victims’ groups and negotiations with the Union of Associations for Victims of the Communist Dictatorship (UOGK).

“We deeply regret that the products for IKEA were also produced by political prisoners in the GDR,” Walter Kadner, CEO and director of sustainability at IKEA Germany, said in a statement to CNN.

“Since this became known, IKEA has consistently worked to clarify the situation. We gave our word to the victims that we would participate in providing support. Therefore, we welcome the creation of a fund to help victims and are glad that we can keep our promise. “, the message added.

IKEA Germany expressed deep regret and welcomed the creation of a fund to help those affected.

UOGK and others called the move “groundbreaking.”

The Victim Relief Fund was created in 2021 after decades of campaigning by victims’ groups.

“IKEA’s commitment to support the fund for victims is an expression of its responsible approach to dark chapters in the company’s history,” said Eveline Zupke, Special Representative for GDR Victims in the German Parliament. “We cannot undo what the prisoners in the GDR prisons had to endure, but we can treat them with respect and support today.”

In 2013 Germany pays $1 billion in compensation for caring for elderly Holocaust survivors.