The German government agreed on Tuesday to increase funds allocated to Holocaust
survivors by 15 percent, from 110 million euros in 2011 to 126.7 million euros
in 2012, the Conference for Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
announced.
In total, Germany is expected to allocate the organization –
better known as the Claims Conference – 513 million euros between 2011 and 2014
to help Holocaust survivors. According to the new deal reached with
Berlin, funds provided by Germany for survivor welfare will reach 136 million
euros in 2013 and 140 million euros in 2014.
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sources of funding on the decline, this long-term agreement obtained by the
Claims Conference is vital to addressing the growing social welfare needs of
aging Holocaust survivors,” said Claims Conference chairman Julius Berman in a
press release. “It will provide survivors and the agencies that care for them
the certainty that funding will be available to meet the anticipated growing
demand over the next few years.”
The Claims Conference, which is charged
with negotiating on behalf of the Jewish victims of the Nazis, provides in-home
nursing and other services for elderly Holocaust survivors in 46 countries
around the world. Every year the organization meets with German officials to
discuss funds allocated for survivors of the genocidal campaign against the
Jewish people before and during World War II, the youngest of whom are now in
their late 70s and 80s.
“Once again, the German government has recognized
its historic responsibility to help care for Jewish Holocaust victims in their
final years,” said Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, a Claims Conference special
negotiator.
“Over the decades, the government has demonstrated its
commitment to alleviating the plight of elderly victims who need the care that
these funds will provide.”
In addition, survivors who were jailed in a
ghetto for at least 18 months will receive a 9-euro increase to their monthly
stipends. The Central and Eastern European Fund, which assists Jews living in
the former Soviet bloc – many of whom live in relative poverty – will also
receive an annual increase in its budget of 2.8 million euros.