Kurt und Herma Römer Stiftung

The Kurt and Herma Römer Foundation is a non-profit, legally capable public foundation under private law based in Hamburg. It was established in 2008 by Herma Römer in accordance with the life’s work of her husband Kurt Römer, who passed away in 1984. According to its statutes, the foundation promotes material and medical assistance for victims of fascist forced labor and their descendants in the German Reich as well as in the territories occupied during World War II. Furthermore, it supports political and historical research, educational work, and awareness-raising about the causes of nationalist and inhumane ideologies, thereby contributing to the dissemination of humanistic, libertarian, and emancipatory attitudes within German society. Project activities include, among others, supporting the Municipal Simferopol Disabled Association of former concentration camp prisoners and forced laborers in Crimea, awarding scholarships and grants for academic work, as well as supporting research and exhibition centers.

The foundation aims to address the consequences of fascist forced labor in all its dimensions, to provide humanitarian aid to the affected victims and their descendants, and through targeted educational and research support, to contribute in the long term to strengthening a free, democratic, and human rights-oriented society.

The target groups include victims of fascist forced labor in the German Reich and the occupied territories from 1941–1945 and their descendants, students, doctoral candidates, and researchers at universities who engage with topics related to Nazi forced labor, culture of remembrance, and political education, educational and research institutions as well as exhibition and memorial sites dedicated to raising awareness about human degradation and nationalism, and organizations and associations that promote encounter projects for former concentration camp prisoners and forced laborers.