News and Announcements

Claims Conference Identifies Living Victims of Nazi Experiments
‘Heinous Crimes Must be Remembered’

The Claims Conference has identified 1,778 living Jewish victims of Nazi medical experiments, an effort that has uncovered new information about these horrific acts committed by the Third Reich.

As part of its effort to educate the wider public about this little-known part of the Holocaust, the Claims Conference is making available testimonies of the people who were subjected to medical experiments. The Claims Conference is turning over the new historical information and the testimonies to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and to Yad Vashem in Israel. The first six testimonies have been posted on the Claims Conference website, www.claimscon.org.

Also, starting this week, these Jewish victims of medical experiments, from 33 countries, will receive a symbolic payment as part of the Claims Conference negotiations with the German government and industry that resulted in the German Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future.”

“Up to now, little historical research has focused on this area,” said Gideon Taylor, executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference). “The material we found will add tremendously to the knowledge of these terrible events, which are among the most heinous in world history.”

About 178 different types of medical experiments were conducted in more than 30 camps and ghettos. The Nazis’ actions were gruesome, and include Dr. Josef Mengele’s infamous experimentation on twins and dwarves. Other examples of experiments, sometimes performed without anesthesia, include injections to attempt to change the color of people’s eyes, sterilization, injection of infectious diseases and poisons, and unnecessary amputations and organ removal, among many others.

Hyman Turenshine, 76, a victim of the sterilization experiments in Auschwitz who now resides in the United States, said, “The payment isn’t what’s important to me. Instead, our stories need to become part of a permanent historical record. Eyewitnesses such as myself are aging, and the world cannot forget what happened to us.”

“This is indeed extremely tragic material,” said Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate. “In doing this work, the Claims Conference was able to gain recognition for these people’s plight. Moreover, the testimonies will provide researchers with a unique source of information.”

Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, said, “On this historic occasion, the museum wishes to acknowledge the importance of recognizing these unspeakable crimes. We are grateful to the Claims Conference for donating these testimonies to us, which will further research and understanding of the Holocaust.”

The Claims Conference, which administers payments for Jewish claimants outside Poland, the Czech Republic and the former Soviet Union, has asked the German Foundation to increase the amount to be paid to these victims by allocating funds from interest earned on the original DM 10 billion settlement. A decision by the German Foundation is expected in the next few months.

Under current guidelines, individuals will receive payment from a DM 50 million fund for Jewish and non-Jewish victims of Nazi experimentation and for children of forced laborers who were in special homes (Kinderheim). Each individual will receive a symbolic payment DM 8,300 (approximately $5,400, or €4,240). In addition to the 1,778 claimants, 119 heir cases have been approved for payment by the Claims Conference. Additional applications, which are primarily from non-Jewish victims, have been approved by partner organizations in Poland, the Czech Republic, the former Soviet Union, as well as the International Organization for Migration.

All applications were reviewed and matched up to historical material about medical experiments conducted in concentration camps and ghettos between 1942 and 1945. In addition, an independent reviewer, Judge Jacob Bazak of Israel, approved the cases.

The Claims Conference is an international umbrella organization of major Jewish groups. Headquartered in New York with offices in Germany, Austria and Israel, it represents world Jewry in negotiations for compensation and restitution from the German and Austrian governments and other entities.

News and Announcements

News and Announcements

Claims Conference Identifies Living Victims of Nazi Experiments‘Heinous Crimes Must be Remembered’

Claims Conference Identifies Living Victims of Nazi Experiments
‘Heinous Crimes Must be Remembered’