Ikea has pledged to contribute €6 million to a hardship fund for victims of the former East German dictatorship, acknowledging that some of its suppliers had used political prisoners as forced labourers.
The Swedish furniture company formally committed to the fund on Wednesday, handing a declaration of intent to Evelyn Zupke, Germany’s commissioner for the victims of East Germany’s communist-era injustices.
The agreement comes after “close exchanges over several years” between Ikea, the victims’ organisation UOKG and Zupke, who became the government commissioner on the issue in 2021.
"For me, Ikea's commitment to supporting the hardship fund is an expression of a responsible approach to the dark chapters of the company's history," Zupke said.
Ikea first acknowledged in 2012, after an independent investigation, that some of its suppliers in East Germany had employed political prisoners to produce goods for the company in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"We deeply regret that products for Ikea were also produced by political prisoners," said Walter Kadnar, the head of Ikea in Germany.
When it took office in 2021, Germany's three-way coalition government pledged to establish a hardship fund for victims of crimes committed under the East German government before German unification in 1990.
The German parliament is due to vote on the establishment of the fund in the coming weeks.
Kadnar said Ikea had long ago assured the people affected that it would atone for the mistreatment they faced.
"We therefore welcome the implementation of the hardship fund and are pleased to be able to keep our promise," he said.
