Telephone advice: SED injustice - advice for GDR convicts

Those wrongly convicted in the GDR can get advice over the phone about possible rehabilitation and compensation claims. As the office of the Saxon state representative for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship announced, a helpline will be available on October 14th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Specifically, it concerns people who were convicted in the GDR for allegedly “anti-social behavior”. The corresponding paragraph 249 of the GDR criminal code was deliberately misused for political purposes in order to criminalize politically undesirable people, it goes on to say. Between 1969 and 1989, 160,000 people were convicted on this basis. More than 130,000 of them have served prison sentences.

Almost every fourth person imprisoned in the GDR was in prison because of this paragraph. According to the information, those affected included those applying to leave the country who lost their jobs because of the application and were classified as “anti-social” due to a lack of employment.

The citizens' advisor for the Saxon state commissioner for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship can be reached on +49 351 493 3700. Prior registration is not necessary.