Negotiations

Holocaust Survivors of Iasi Death Trains, Pogrom & Ghetto now to Receive First-ever Compensation Pensions

July 12, 2017 – Julius Berman, President of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) announced that Jewish survivors of the Holocaust era “death trains,” pogrom and subsequent open ghettos in Iasi, Romania will be eligible to receive compensation pensions. Read the full article.

Claims Conference Reaches Landmark Agreement with Germany to Assist Child Survivors of the Holocaust

September 15, 2014 – The Claims Conference has reached a landmark agreement with the German Finance Ministry under which the organization and the German government will together provide assistance to Jewish child survivors of the Holocaust.

“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,” said Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Claims Conference Special Negotiator.  Read the full article.

Claims Conference Reaches $1 Billion Agreement with German Government for Survivor Homecare

May 28, 2013 – The Claims Conference has negotiated an agreement under which the German government has committed to provide approximately $1 billion over a four-year period for homecare for Jewish Holocaust victims, with the annual amount increasing every year through 2017.

The German government agreed, in its talks with the Claims Conference, to provide €205 million ($266 million) in 2015 – an increase of 45 percent over 2014; €210 million ($273 million) for 2016 and €215 million ($280 million) for 2017.  The previously agreed-upon amount for 2014 is approximately €142 million ($185 million), an increase of €12 million ($15 million) over 2013 funding.

Thus, taken together, this historic agreement is a commitment of €772 million or approximately $1 billion for homecare funding for 2014 through 2017. Read the full article.

Claims Conference Pension Amounts Equalized Following Negotiations with German Government

July 10, 2012 – Since the establishment of the Central and Eastern European Fund (CEEF) in 1998, which issues pensions to certain Holocaust survivors living in the former Soviet bloc, the Claims Conference has been strongly advocating to the German government that its monthly payment should be the same as the Article 2 Fund. As of January 1, 2013, the monthly payments for CEEF will increase to €300, the same as Article 2. Read the full article.

Hardship Fund Expands to Former Soviet Union

July 9, 2012 – The Claims Conference is pleased to announce the expansion of the Hardship Fund to all areas of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This has been a long-sought goal of the Claims Conference in ongoing negotiations with the government of Germany, as it has sought a measure of justice for Jewish victims of Nazism who have not yet received payment. Those eligible will be entitled to a one-time payment of €2,556. Read the full article.

Claims Conference Negotiates Pensions for Additional 16,000 Survivors

December 5, 2011 – Certain Holocaust survivors who have been denied German compensation pensions will now be eligible to receive them as a result of Claims Conference negotiations with the German government. Read the full article.

Ghetto Fund Update

November 28, 2011 – In negotiations with the Claims Conference, the German government has agreed to remove the application deadline for application to the Ghetto Work Fund, which provides a one-time payment of €2,000 to certain Jewish survivors of Nazi-era ghettos. Read the full article.