The German government has pledged another billion pounds to Holocaust survivors 70 years after a Shoah reparations agreement was first signed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Israel’s Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen, and several hundred guests met on Thursday to commemorate the signing of the Luxembourg Agreement.
In September 1952, the deal was inked between the Israeli government, West German representatives, and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, a collection of organisations representing Holocaust survivors.
All subsequent claims for compensation for Nazi persecution have been based on the agreement. The total amount of compensation provided will now rise to over £70 billion.
Chancellor Scholz said: “The Luxembourg Agreements were fundamental and led to financial compensation in the amount of more than €80 billion Germany has paid by the end of 2021.
“The payments to survivors and the homecare program are very close to our heart and recently we see the increasing importance of Holocaust education.”
This week, the three parties were represented at a ceremony in Berlin at the Jewish Museum.
Claims Conference Chief Negotiator Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat said: “The Luxembourg Agreements laid the foundation for all subsequent compensations for survivors of Nazi persecution.
“Never before in human history has the defeated power paid compensation to civilians for losses and suffering.
“It is a monumental achievement, which shows the commitment of the German people to recognize the evils of their former Nazi society.”
At the time the agreement was signed, however, it generated tremendous controversy in Israel.
Future Prime Minister Menachem Begin railed against reparations, saying: "Our honour shall not be sold for money; Our blood shall not be atoned by goods. We shall wipe out the disgrace!"
Much of the compensation fund was paid to the Israeli government, which took advantage of the cash flow to boost the young nation’s industrial base.
In 1999, the German government set up a fund to provide aid to help disadvantaged Holocaust survivors.
This year’s payment will include almost £150 million for a Holocaust hardship fund and £10 million in emergency humanitarian payments to 8,500 Ukrainian survivors.
Claims Conference Executive Vice President Greg Schneider said: “It took truly great and far-sighted leadership to sit down at the table only a few years after the Holocaust and negotiate the unimaginable.
“They laid the groundwork for the results we are announcing today of more than $1.2b. in 2023 for compensation and social welfare services for Holocaust survivors…
“We could not do the work we do today – work to ensure every Holocaust survivor is able to live their life in the dignity that was taken from them in their youth – if each of those leaders had not stepped up during this moment in history.”
