German firm Degussa to pay Nazi-era slaves

The German industrial group, Degussa, has confirmed that it is making payments to survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp, who worked as slave labourers for the company during the Second World War.

A Degussa spokesman said the payments were not compensation, but a humanitarian gesture.

About five-hundred Auschwitz prisoners were reported to have worked for Degussa, in a tyre factory.

Degussa has not given details of the payments.

Six other German companies have so far been reported to have made payments for slave labour.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service