Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference)

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North America

Rene Hammond of Florida survived a ghetto and Auschwitz. She received compensation from the Program for Former Slave and Forced Laborers. Learn more.
Helen Kazman survived a ghetto and forced labor camp. Today, Claims Conference-funded homecare helps Helen remain in her home. Learn more.
Lev and Bronislava Friedman attend a support group for Nazi victims run by Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services in Florida, supported by Claims Conference funds. Learn more.
Slava Kulikov, Coordinator of the Holocaust Survivors Support Program for JFCS of Greater Philadelphia,speaks of her clients with genuine love and unwavering devotion. Learn more.
Holocaust Community Services in Chicago has embarked on a local fundraising campaign to ensure continued care for its community’s Holocaust victims for years to come. Learn more.


United States and Canada

The Claims Conference funds more than 100 Jewish organizations, primarily Jewish Family and Children’s Service agencies, in more than 20 U.S. states and in Canada, to provide social welfare services for Nazi victims. More than four in five U.S. victims reside in just five states: New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois. In Canada, most Holocaust victims live in or near Toronto and Montreal, with programs also offered in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

The global financial crisis has adversely affected social service delivery to Nazi victims living in North America. While Claims Conference funding has held steady, and in most instances has increased, a number of other factors have contributed to a general retrenchment of services to Nazi victims. They include decreased contributions to Jewish organizations and other philanthropic bodies, decline in net worth of many Jewish federation endowment funds, and cutbacks in federal, state, and municipal programs that have benefited Nazi victims in the past including homecare services, dental care, and food assistance programs.

The Claims Conference focuses on using a “Continuum of Care” model, in which it works with local agencies to create and sustain services that take into account the particular conditions and needs of Nazi victims in their communities, including the availability of public funding for home- and community-based services. Continuum of Care includes case management, home-care, medical expenses, dental care, food programs, psychological services, emergency financial assistance, transportation, and socialization programs.

Involvement by local victims of Nazism is an integral part of these programs. The Claims Conference requires each agency to form a local Holocaust Survivor Advisory Committee, which helps determine local needs and identify Nazi victims in need of assistance.