Thousands used as virtual slaves in 1950s army unit could get compensation

Thousands of people who were forced to work as virtual slaves in a Czechoslovak army unit in the 1950s could receive compensation, the news website iDnes reported. Men sent to the Auxiliary Technical Battalions would get a one-off payment of CZK 1,800 for every month of what was practically imprisonment, under an Interior Ministry proposal to place them in the same category as “class enemies” jailed by the Communist regime. The latter have already received similar compensation and the move comes in response to a court case in September in which a former “member” of the Auxiliary Technical Battalions won compensation. The proposal is set to go before the government.