Germany Receives 178 Compensation Applications from Gay Servicepeople over Discrimination – By Kirsten Grieshaber (Associated Press) / Aug 8, 2023
BERLIN — The German defense ministry said Tuesday that it has received 178 applications for compensation from gay servicepeople who experienced discrimination in the military in the past.
The ministry said in a statement that it had expected more applications, but that nonetheless “the goals of the law were achieved.”
A law rehabilitating gay soldiers who suffered discrimination came into force two years ago, and so far, about 400,000 euros ($438,000) has been paid in symbolic compensation, the ministry said.
The law was passed in 2021 after a study commissioned by the defense ministry and presented in 2020 documented “systematic discrimination” in the Bundeswehr — the military of West Germany and since 1990 of reunited Germany — from 1955 until the beginning of the 21st century.
