Germany is to extend £1.1 billion to Holocaust survivors around the globe in 2024, the organisation that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis has said.
The compensation was negotiated with Germany's finance ministry and includes £702 million to provide home care and supportive services for frail and vulnerable Holocaust survivors.
In 2023, the Claims Conference projects it will distribute hundreds of millions in compensation to more than 200,000 survivors in 83 countries. It has allocated more than £593 million in grants to more than 300 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as home care, food and medicine.
Increases of £138 million to symbolic payments of the Hardship Fund Supplemental programme have also been obtained, impacting more than 128,000 Holocaust survivors globally, according to the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany - also known as the Claims Conference.
The Hardship Fund Supplemental payment was originally established as a one-time payment, negotiated during COVID lockdowns and leading to three payments for eligible Holocaust survivors. This year, Germany agreed to extend the hardship payment, which was set to end in December 2023, to 2027.
The amount for each of the additional years was set at approximately £1082 per person for 2024, £1125 for 2025, £1169 for 2026 and £1211 for 2027.
The survivors receiving these payments largely include Russian Jews who were not in camps or ghettos, and aren't eligible for pension programs, the Claims Conference said.
Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi death camp (Photo: Getty)
As children, the survivors fled Einsatzgruppen — the Nazi killing units charged with murdering entire Jewish communities. More than 1 million Jews were killed by these units, which operated by shooting thousands of Jews at once and burying them in mass pits.
“Every year these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase," said Greg Schneider, the Claims Conference’s vice president.
"Being able to ensure direct payments to survivors in addition to the expansions to the social welfare services is essential in making sure every Holocaust survivor is taken care of for as long as it is required, addressing each individual need,” Schneider added.
The Association of Jewish Refugees said they were “grateful” to the Claims Conference "for another round of successful negotiations".
They added: "For those who were able to flee and survive — they are some of the poorest in the survivor community; the loss of time, family, property and life cannot be made whole.
“By expanding payments to these survivors, the German government is acknowledging that this suffering is still being felt deeply, both emotionally and financially,” the group said in a statement. “While symbolic, these payments provide financial relief for many ageing Jewish Holocaust survivors living around the world.”
As the number of survivors dwindles, the Claims Conference also negotiated continuing funding for Holocaust education, which has been extended for two more years and increased each year by £2.6 million, which is approximately £32.8 million for 2026 and £36 million for 2027.
Since 1952, the German government has paid more than £71 billion to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis.
Stuart Eizenstat, the special negotiator for the Claims Conference, said: “It has been nearly 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, and the need to negotiate for survivor care and compensation is more urgent than ever.
"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."
