Italy is wrapping up 80 years of lawsuits against Nazi Germany.

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By 28 June, any victims of Nazi atrocities in Italy and their relatives must file a compensation claim against Germany -- a deadline which puts an end to a years-long dispute between the two countries.

 

In January this year, 99-year-old Italian Quinto Nuzi filed a claim against Germany for €130,000.

 

The money would be compensation for the suffering Nuzi endured during World War II, when he was arrested by German forces in 1943 and detained for 20 months in a Nazi forced labour camp in Poland

His lawsuit came 78 years after the horrors he suffered in the camp - but he told Italian media he had no idea until recently that he might even be entitled to compensation.

 

Now, his lawyers have asked the Italian government to consider postponing a deadline at the end of June which would be the final date any Italians could make a claim against the German state related to World War II.

“We need to give the opportunity to all formerly detained troops and civilians to access the fund,” his lawyers said to Italian news media.

The looming 28 June deadline will close a years-long dispute between Germany and Italy which Berlin is eager to end - but which many in Italy consider unfair to bring to a close.