Russia demands reparations for the siege of Leningrad

The siege of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht in World War II resulted in over a million deaths. Now Moscow is demanding compensation payments.

Moscow – The blockade of Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, is considered one of the greatest war crimes of the 20th century. The city was besieged by German troops for three years during World War II. Most of the victims starved or froze to death. The city was cut off from food supplies during this time. Historian Timothy Snyder on the blockade: “The goal was the destruction of Leningrad by starvation.”

The Russian government today criticizes the fact that Jewish victims of the blockade are being compensated directly by Germany, but not Russians or other nationalities of the former Soviet Union. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, spoke of “racial discrimination” in this context. In September, Russian veterans wrote a letter to the German Chancellery. In it they accused the federal government of applying double standards. According to a report from the Russian news agency Tass The letter said: “The Nazis' cruel plan to destroy all residents of indomitable Leningrad through hunger and cold made no distinction between nationalities.” There are still 60,000 survivors who are not receiving aid payments from Germany.

Soviet renunciation of further German reparations

The German federal government is of the opinion that the reparations to the Soviet Union after the end of the war will resolve the issue of aid payments to non-Jewish victims. In addition, the Soviet Union waived further German reparation payments in 1953. Both the Soviet leadership at the time and the government in Warsaw, which depended on it, renounced further reparations because the German people had “already fulfilled their obligation to pay reparations to a significant extent.” Since then, the German government has insisted on both Russia as well as to Poland that this waiver remains valid.

German aid for victims of the Leningrad blockade

However, in 2019, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged the sum of twelve million euros for an aid project in St. Petersburg. These funds were primarily used to modernize a hospital in Petersburg, where many of the now very old survivors of the blockade are being treated. Despite the now heavily strained German-Russian relationship with Russia, the project continues.

The Federal Government justifies that Jewish victims of the blockade receive higher financial compensation from Germany by saying that Jewish victims in Leningrad were exposed to an even greater risk than other nationalities. Because they were threatened with certain death if they were arrested by German soldiers. Have since 2008 Jewish survivors of the blockade have the opportunity to receive one-off payments. They have also been receiving monthly pension payments since 2021.

Russian comparisons between World War II and the Ukrainian War

The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the fact that Jewish victims are individually compensated but not other Russian victims to be “racial discrimination.” According to the pro-government Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman sees this as an example of nationalism in Western societies. The West refuses to recognize the “Nazi nature of the Kiev regime”.