Topline
Germany has agreed to distribute an additional $1.4 billion to Holocaust survivors around the world next year, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany announced on Thursday, which will primarily help provide care and support for aging survivors and adds to billions the German government has paid in restitution for those who suffered under the Nazis.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.
Key Facts
The figure was negotiated with Germany’s finance ministry on behalf of Holocaust survivors around the world, said the Claims Conference, the New York-based nonprofit working to secure restitution and compensation for Jews who suffered under the Nazis.
It includes funding for direct compensation for survivors, social welfare services and continued funding for Holocaust education.
The majority of funds, some $888.9 million, will go towards providing home care services for survivors, including $105.2 million to address the aging group’s “increased needs,” the Claims Conference said.
Additionally, some $175 million will be used to enhance symbolic, one-time payments to survivors through the organization’s Hardship Fund Supplemental payment, which ran for three years during the Covid-19 pandemic and was originally slated to end in December 2023.
The program of annual payments will now run through 2027 and impact more than 128,000 Holocaust survivors, the Claims Council said.
The funding provides for payments of around $1,356 per person for 2024, $1,411 for 2025, $1,465 for 2026 and $1,519 for 2027, according to the organization
Crucial Quote
“Every year these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase,” said Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference. Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, special negotiator for the Claims Conference negotiation delegation, said it is “more urgent than ever” to negotiate for survivor care and compensation. “Every negotiation is a near-last opportunity to ensure survivors of the Holocaust are receiving some measure of justice and a chance at the dignity that was taken from them in their youth. It will never be enough until the last survivor has taken their last breath.”
Big Number
$90 billion. That’s at least how much the German government has paid to individuals since 1952 for suffering and losses due to persecution by the Nazis, according to the Associated Press. After years of escalating persecution, the Nazis murdered approximately 6 million Jewish people in the Holocaust, though precise figures are tough to estimate. Many other groups, including Roma people, people with disabilities and gay and lesbian people, were also targeted.
Further Reading
Germany to give $1.4 billion to Holocaust survivors globally in 2024 (AP News)
Auschwitz: How death camp became centre of Nazi Holocaust (BBC)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/06/16/germany-commits-additional-14-billion-for-holocaust-survivors/