Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, German

Reparations and victim reconciliation have become a popular topic in the 21st century. In the fight for apologies, compensation, and corrections for human injustices, civil society actors play a necessary role in varied facets. Through qualitative research and case study comparison, I seek to investigate the questions: How did civil society organizations fight for successful reparations from the German government? Which factors lead to a successful or satisfactory outcome, and which to failure? By using Germany as the common perpetrator and respondent among the reparations claims, the study contrasts the experience and success of civil societies in their push for financial indemnifications and reconciliation. My focus is on the Jews following the Holocaust, the Ovaherero and Nama peoples for the Namibian Genocide, and the Roma and Sinti after the Porajmos. My research found that successful victim mobilization through civil society organizations relies on a combination of factors, including support from the diaspora, government connections, international support, and solidarity among civil society organizations. Additionally, this thesis finds that the advent of the internet has become widely beneficial to victims as they organize and mobilize efforts for transitive justice.

Committee: Christina Guenther Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Scott Piroth Ph.D. (Committee Member); Edgar Landgraf Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History; Holocaust Studies; Political Science