The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany has reached an agreement with the German government for additional financial assistance for child survivors of the Holocaust.
The Finance Ministry in Berlin reportedly agreed Wednesday to one-time payments of € 2,500 (US$ 3,270) for Jewish children who were in concentration camps, ghettos or in hiding for at least six months.It was not immediately clear how many victims would qualify for the payments and the Finance Ministry made no immediate statement. “Child survivors” are defined as Nazi victims born on or after 1 January 1928.
The agreement comes as part of annual negotiations on who should receive funds. It still needs German parliamentary approval.
“The joint fund will recognize survivors worldwide who were in camps, ghettos, hiding and false identity for psychological and medical trauma caused during their deprived childhoods,” said Claims Conference President Julius Berman.
“Jewish children were in constant fear of death during the Holocaust. As you can imagine, this distress and the horrors of the Shoah have permeated so many aspects of their lives,” added the former US deputy secretary of the Treasury, Stuart Eizenstat, who serves as Claims Conference special negotiator.
The fund is expected to become operational on 1 January 2015, and details will be made available after approval by the German Bundestag and the Claims Conference.
