Julius Berman, chairman of the Claims Conference, announced that in negotiations earlier this month, the German government agreed to provide a total of €91 million (USD $125 million) for homecare and additional pensions for elderly, needy Jewish victims of Nazism around the world.

With increasing frailty and disability, the needs of aging Holocaust victims have become more urgent. The Claims Conference has been pressing Germany in recent years to provide funds so survivors may receive the assistance they need to remain in their own homes, a matter of great importance to many.

The negotiations today resulted in €55 million (approximately $77 million) for homecare and social services in 2010, a significant increase over the €30 million obtained for 2009. Other sources of restitution-related funding for social services are on the decline as the need for such funding is increasing due to the aging of the victims.

Amb. Stuart Eizenstat, Claims Conference Special Negotiator, said, “Today’s agreement is a major step forward in addressing vital social welfare needs for the poorest of Jewish Holocaust victims living around the world. Much still remains to be done, including a multi-year agreement and continuing to enhance other benefits for survivors.”

Berman said, “The Claims Conference’s top priority is to continue obtaining funding to assist needy, vulnerable Jewish Holocaust victims in their final years. Aging Holocaust victims must know that the Claims Conference will assist them as long as needed.”

The Claims Conference allocates the funds from the German government to agencies assisting needy Jewish Holocaust victims around the world. Funding is used to assist in essential activities of daily living, such as cooking, eating, dressing, washing, taking medication, shopping, and light housekeeping.

Information on these agencies is at www.claimscon.org.

Fund Liberalization

The German government and Claims Conference have agreed that applications from Holocaust survivors who were in a concentration camp and do not receive an ongoing pension from the BEG, Israeli Ministry of Finance, Article 2 Fund or the Central and Eastern European Fund (CEEF), will be reviewed to see whether those cases are cases of special hardship. Such survivors should contact the Claims Conference.

Under the Article 2 Fund and the related CEEF, certain survivors were previously eligible for payment only if they were imprisoned in a concentration camp for at least six months. The German government agreed today to allow for a special review of the cases of those who were in concentration camps, even for a short period of time, recognizing the Claims Conference’s contention that even a short time in a Nazi camp resulted in unimaginable suffering and deprivation.

This change has been a longsought goal in negotiations with Germany.

“Even a day in the hell of a concentration camp was like an eternity. The Claims Conference has long maintained that it is impossible to quantify a survivor’s suffering based on the amount of time incarcerated,” said Greg Schneider, Claims Conference Executive Vice President. “This moral achievement helps recognize the unimaginable horror that existed in concentration camps. We will continue to press for additional liberalizations to benefit additional survivors.”

The Article 2 Fund makes monthly payments of €291 and the CEEF makes monthly payments of €240 to certain Holocaust survivors. The Claims Conference also continues to negotiate for CEEF payments equal to those from the Article 2 Fund. Full eligibility criteria for both are at www.claimscon.org.

Western European Survivors

The Claims Conference obtained Article 2 Fund payments for approximately 1,300 new claimants who were citizens of certain Western European countries at the time of their persecution and at the time of the Global Agreement between Germany and their countries of origin, resulting in an estimated additional estimated €36 million (approximately $50 million) to be received over the next 10 years.

Payments can now be made to survivors who have already received up to a maximum of 35,000 DM (€17,895) from their countries of origin as a result of those countries’ postwar agreements with Germany.

The Article 2 Fund has paid more than $2 billion to more than 80,000 Holocaust survivors since it was established in 1992 through negotiations with the German government. Monthly payments are €291 (approximately $390). Currently approximately 55,000 people receive Article 2 payments.

Eligibility criteria for the Article 2 Fund is at www.claimscon.org.

Significant open issues regarding compensation for Jewish Holocaust victims remain, which the Claims Conference put forward in these negotiations with the German government. The German government and the Claims Conference agreed to meet over the coming months to review these issues in an effort to reach agreement.

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) represents world Jewry in negotiating for compensation and restitution for victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs. The Claims Conference administers compensation funds, recovers unclaimed Jewish property, and allocates funds to institutions that provide social welfare services to Holocaust survivors and preserve the memory and lessons of the Shoah.