The simple tombstones in an old cemetery on the outskirts of Stuttgart stands witness to the suffering of the thousands of young Armenian prisoners who fell into Nazi hands during the Second World War.
"I traveled across the free world, but found nothing like Armenia. It's with that nostalgia that I died," reads the inscription on the tomb of Armenag Stepanian, dated 1950.
Over the years, the section allocated for the Armenians has grown and today it includes a monument honoring not only those who stayed behind after the war and died in Germany, but also the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks something which the German government has still not recognized despite the efforts of Armenian community.
The German inscription on the red marble monument makes no mention to the Genocide. "The authorities did not want us to be too explicit, probably out of respect to their friend and ally, Turkey. But the Armenian inscription on the same monument is clear," said a local community leader.
During World War II, thousands of Armenians were captured on the German front and along the path of the Nazi advance in Eastern Europe, including Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus, and brought to Germany to work in factories.
No one knows how many died on German soil, but the figure runs in the thousands. Many fell fighting within the ranks of the Soviet army and more than 5,000 others languished in prisoner of war camps.
Those who survived were only lucky to be alive.
Many of the freed prisoners returned home to the Soviet Union after the war only to face the wrath of communist dictator Stalin and exile to Siberia.
This was particularly the case for not only some of the prisoners who joined the German army to fight against the Soviets but also those who were forced into labor camps. For Stalin, working for the enemy was tantamount to treason. Decades have passed since the end of the war and most of the Armenian soldiers who fought on the German front have died, the survivors have scattered around the world but their suffering has not been forgotten, thanks to a young Armenian lawyer who has taken on their case and begun the fight for restitution.
Lawyer Stefan Taschjian, now in his thirties, who came to Germany at the age of two from Aleppo, Syria, with his Armenian father and German mother, has spent hundreds of hours and thousands dollars from his own money to research and dig deep into second World War archives to document the conditions of the Armenian prisoners and launch class action suits on their behalf with the authorities.
"When the law regarding restitution for those who were sent to forced labor camps was first published in 1999,1 said to myself: Why should the Armenian victims be left out," Taschjian said in a recent interview. "The law came into being because of Jewish pressure, but the Armenian soldiers suffered just as much in Nazi forced labor camps."
"I had some of the evidence, and what happened during those dark days was very clear to me. The law made a clear distinction between ordinary prisoners of war, who were not entitled to restitution, and those where were sent to forced labor camps. The problem was finding the victims and the proof," Taschjian said.
The first step was to publicize the 1999 German law in Armenia where most of the freed prisoners had returned to after the war
"I started with a publicity campaign through Armenian newspapers and television stations, but progress was slow. In the end, I decided to open a small office in Yerevan. I went as far as hiring a few young local lawyers and began work. No one in Armenia was aware of the possibilities, and I did not get much help from the authorities.
"Lobbyists and lawyers in Israel were moving full speed ahead, but the same was not true in Russia and Armenia," he said.
But news travels fast in Armenia. Within months, and thanks to an aggressive advertising campaign, Armenian veterans of the German front began appearing, first in trickles, and then in the hundreds. "Getting the necessary documents has not been easy because all the applicants should include an autobiography in Russian and English with a detailed description of the forced labor camp number, a copy of their passports, proof of their forced labor, like photos, if they have any, and names of friends who were imprisoned with them," Taschjian said.
A tall order, considering the fact that most survivors are old and the question of restitution was never an issue between Germany and the Soviet Union which once included Armenia.
"It was a slow process, but we managed to build up the files," Taschjian said.
With the available information, Taschjian, who has a very successful law practice in Berlin, began the corroboration process, searching for supporting documents in old German archives and military records.
In less than one year, Taschjian already has gathered 950 applications, including four from Argentina and a most recent one from an old Armenian man in Los Angeles who said he had heard of the restitution camÂpaign from an Armenian television broadcast.
"Some people volunteer their time teaching, others do social work, and as a lawyer, I have decided to devote my spare time to helping those Armenians who faced the injustices of the Nazi regime," Taschjian said.
Looking every bit German, except for his fluent Armenian and unshaken commitment to his ethnicity, Taschjian now finds himself spending more and more time on what he calls his "pet project my way of helping our people."
But isn't time money?
"If we succeed in proving our case with these people in the courts, we can claim anywhere between five thousand and seven thousand German marks for each person. I have not asked, and will not ask, any of those who approach me for money. But in order to cover my office expenses, I will ask for 10 percent of what each individual receives once their cases are settled," he said.
Getting restitution for something that happened decades ago is not an easy thing, but Taschjian is determined to do whatever it takes to help those who had no choice.
"These people had to join the Soviet army. They were forced into labor camps and factories. We cannot let time wipe out their suffering. This is the least Germany can do for them," he said.
