Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference)

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Article 2 Fund: Eligibility

The Article 2 Fund is administered by the Claims Conference, but is governed by eligibility criteria established by the German government. Article 2 Fund eligibility criteria are complex as they were negotiated point by point with the German government over a number of years. The Claims Conference encourages people who may have a claim to apply.

Under this program, eligible applicants receive monthly payments of €300, an amount that has increased over the years due to Claims Conference negotiations with Germany, paid in quarterly installments.

Please Note: Heirs are not entitled to file an application form.

Persons who currently reside in any of the former communist-bloc countries of Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union should apply to the Central and Eastern European Fund (CEEF).

PERSONS CURRENTLY RECEIVING A MONTHLY PENSION UNDER THE GERMAN FEDERAL INDEMNIFICATION LAW (BEG), THE AUSTRIAN LAW REGARDING RELIEF FOR VICTIMS (OFG), PAYMENTS UNDER THE PRV, THE GDR PENSION FOR VICTIMS OF THE NAZI REGIME (VDN), OR A PENSION FROM THE ISRAELI MINISTRY OF FINANCE UNDER THE ISRAELI NAZI PERSECUTIONS DISABLED PERSONS LAW 5717-1957 CANNOT ALSO RECEIVE A PENSION FROM THE ARTICLE 2 FUND.  

Eligibility under the Article 2 Fund is limited to Jewish Holocaust survivors who:

Please click here to view the list of camps recognized by the German Ministry of Finance for eligibility.

  • Were incarcerated for at least six months in a concentration camp* as defined in accordance with the German Federal Indemnification Law (BEG);or
  • Were in in a forced labor camp for Jews according to the list of places of imprisonment of the International Tracing Service of the Red Cross; or
  • Were incarcerated for at least six months in a camp for Jewish hostages in Austria (known as the Judenlager or "Strasshof complex"); or
  • Were incarcerated for at least six months in forced labor camps in the region of the Austro-Hungarian border (known as the "Alpenfestung") or at the copper mines in Bor (Serbia); or
  • Served for at least six months in forced military labor battalions for Hungarian Jews on the Ukrainian front or were incarcerated for at least six months in camps or Hungarian labor units inside Hungary (commencing in March 1944); or
  • Were incarcerated for at least six months in the newly recognized camps which were forced labor camps and working battalions in Romania (under restricted criteria), the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the former Yugoslavia, Libya, Somovit in Bulgaria and Ferramonti di Tarsia in Italy. It is important to note that the persecution must have taken place during specific time periods for the survivor to be eligible; or
  • Served for at least six months in a recognized labor camp in Bulgaria (under restricted criteria) between March 1943 and November 1943. In addition, incarceration in a recognized labor camp in Bulgaria before or after the above dates is considered to be incarceration in a ghetto for the purposes of determining eligibility; or
  • Were incarcerated for at least six months in certain labor camps in Tunisia, Morocco, or Algeria; or
  • Were imprisoned for at least 18 months (as of January 1, 2012: at least 12 months) in a ghetto as defined by the German government; or
  • Were in hiding for at least 18 months (as of January 1, 2012: at least 12 months), under inhumane conditions, without access to the outside world in German Nazi-occupied territory and Nazi satellite states (Nazi instigation); or
  • Lived illegally under false identity or with false papers for at least 18 months (as of January 1, 2012: at least 12 months) under inhumane conditions in German Nazi-occupied territory and Nazi satellite states (Nazi instigation).

*The German government and Claims Conference have agreed that applications from Holocaust survivors who were in a concentration camp for whatever period of time, and do not receive an ongoing pension from the BEG, Israeli Ministry of Finance, Article 2 Fund or the Central and Eastern European Fund (CEEF), will be submitted by the Claims Conference for review by the Ministry of Finance to see whether those cases are cases of special hardship. Such survivors should contact the Claims Conference.

As of January 1, 2012, Jewish Holocaust survivors who are age 75 or over and who were incarcerated in a ghetto as defined by the German government for at least three months (but for less than 12 months) and who do not already receive a pension from a German source (Article 2 Fund, CEEF, German Federal Indemnification Law - BEG – Bundesentschadigungsgesetz, Israeli Ministry of Finance under the Israeli Nazi Persecution Disabled Persons Law 5717-1957) , may be eligible for a special pension of €240 per month.

In addition to the above-mentioned criteria relating to the duration, place and nature of persecution, the eligibility criteria of the Article 2 Fund include the following geographical and financial limitations established by the German government:

  • The applicant does not currently reside in any of the former communist-bloc countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Persons who currently reside in those countries should apply to the Central and Eastern European Fund (CEEF); and
  • The annual net income of an applicant may not exceed the local currency equivalent of US $16,000, after taxes. (The income is slightly different for applicants residing permanently in the Federal Republic of Germany.) The relevant income limit for residents of Germany and other European countries can be obtained from the Claims Conference office in Germany. The relevant income limit for residents of Israel is available on the Claims Conference Hebrew website.

When calculating whether the income limit has been met, from October 1, 2007 the following criteria apply:

  • Only the income of the applicant shall be taken into account (NOT the income of his/her spouse). This is a change from the previous rule.
  • When determining whether the income limit is met, the following types of pensions will NOT be considered as income (i.e. will NOT be included in the $16,000 limit):
    • Old age pensions (including: governmental pension, social security payments, occupational pension or retirement plans), and/or
    • Pensions awarded for reduction in earning capacity, for industrial injury or occupational disease, for loss of life or any comparable payment.

Specific details, including what payments constitute comparable payments and limitations regarding assets of the applicant may be found below:

Details regarding comparable payments
Details regarding assets limits

Further details regarding these issues may be announced on the website.

Please Note: Applicants who may be eligible based on the persecution criteria should apply immediately. Although certain financial eligibility criteria have yet to be finalized, eligible applicants may receive back payments commencing from the later of October 1, 2007 or the date of the receipt of the application. Thus, applicants may apply immediately and submit their financial details once the specific criteria have been finalized and announced on the Claims Conference website.

Applicants not found eligible will have the right to appeal to the Independent Review Authority of the Claims Conference.

Important Note: All applicants are urged to check the Claims Conference website regularly as amendments to the criteria and clarifications are posted as they become available.

Seeking further eligibility

The Claims Conference continues to press the German government for future liberalization of the criteria so more survivors will be eligible for payments. The Claims Conference is seeking the inclusion of Holocaust survivors who:

  • Were in forced military labor battalions and in concentration camps not currently recognized as such by the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Were subjected to persecution for periods of time less than currently stipulated
  • Were confined in open ghettos
  • Have income in excess of eligible levels

Fetus Cases

NOTE: Applicants are advised that it has been clarified that the Article 2 Fund, Central and Eastern European Fund and Hardship Fund, will process applications from applicants who were a fetus at the time of their mother’s persecution.

Documenting eligibility

The Claims Conference actively assists survivors with the difficult task of seeking documentation more than 50 years after the event. Caseworkers help survivors organize and complete their documentation. The Claims Conference has assisted many clients in qualifying for Article 2 pensions using records from the German indemnification agencies, the International Tracing Service and a wide variety of other sources, including archives in the former Soviet Union, the Russian Red Cross, the Holocaust Museum in Washington and Yad Vashem, in Israel. For more information:

For residents of Europe:

Claims Conference Article 2 Fund
Gräfstrasse 97
60487 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Phone: +49 69 970701-0
Fax: +49 69 970701-40
E-mail: A2-HF-CEEF2@claimscon.org

For residents of Israel:

Claims Conference Article 2 Fund
P.O.B. 29254
Tel Aviv 61292
Israel
Tel.: 03-519-4400
Fax: 03-624-0047
E-mail: info@claimscon.org

For residents of the United States and all other countries:
Claims Conference
1359 Broadway
Room 2020
New York, NY 10018
USA
Tel.: +1-646-536-9100
Fax: +1-212-679-2126
E-mail: info@claimscon.org

December 5, 2011

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