The centenarian was sent in 1943 from Marseille to Germany, where he worked unpaid for more than two years in a chemical plant. His lawyer says France would be in breach of international law by refusing to pay the sum.
A 102-year-old Frenchman is seeking €43,000 from France for the forced labour he carried out in Germany during World War II.
“I want to feel proud to be French and be able to put this Franco-German history behind me. I feel betrayed by politicians,” Albert Corrieri, who will turn 103 this year, told Euronews.
Corrieri was only 21 years old when German officers took him from the restaurant in Marseille, where he worked as a plumber. He was sent to Germany as part of the Compulsory Work Service (STO) programme enacted by the French Vichy government in 1943.
Corrieri worked at the IG Farben chemical plant in the Ludwigshafen camp until it was liberated by American soldiers on 15 April 1945.
Almost eight decades after the end of his forced labour, the centenarian has brought a case against the French state, arguing that he should be paid €43,000 in compensation — equivalent to roughly €10 per hour — for the more than two years of work that he carried out against his will during the war.
Corrieri told Euronews that he had been fighting to receive a reparation since the 1950s.
“I never got anywhere, but last year a historian friend recommended I take the case to court”, he said.
“Time is not on my side, I can’t afford for this to go on for much longer. Getting the money is about dignity, it is what I am owed and I will pass it onto my children if I can’t spend it all”, added Corrieri.
The 102-year-old attended a hearing for his case in Marseille on Tuesday.
During the hearing, the court’s public rapporteur stated that a 1951 law — which allows forced labourers to demand reparations from the French state — operates under a statute of limitations from 1955 onwards.
Under these terms it would be too late for Corrieri — who is awaiting a court ruling on 18 March — to file his reparation claim.
Michel Pautot, Corrieri’s lawyer, told Euronews that he believed any such decision would be a breach of international law.
“My client was deported and enslaved, both of which are crimes against humanity. These crimes are not time-barred, so should the court refuse our request it would mean that there is a double standard for crimes against humanity,” he said.
‘Fight for history and rememberance’
Documents seen by Euronews, which include Corrieri’s deportation card and his “victim of deportation card,” provide proof that he was deported and forced to work as part of the Compulsory Work Service.
Pautot said the case was important because it was “a fight for history and remembrance”.
“The victims of the STO must not remain the forgotten victims of history,” he added.
While hundreds of thousands of French citizens were deported to work in forced labour camps, many died on site and only a handful of survivors individuals are still alive.
This is not the first case of its kind, as Pautot filed a compensation case in Nice in February on behalf of another centenarian, Erpilio Trovati, who also carried out forced labour during the war.
Trovati’s application was rejected because the case was deemed to have been brought too late due to the 1955 statute of limitations for forced labourers. He has, however, appealed against the decision.
