6,500 Holocaust survivors to receive pension from Germany for first time

• Published date: 06 October 2021
• Author: JEREMY SHARON
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Included in the new pension scheme are people who survived the Nazi siege of Leningrad, were in hiding in France or suffered persecution in Romania. Until now, they have not received pensions from the German government as other survivors have.

Of the 6,500 survivors to receive the pensions, about 4,500 survived the Nazi siege of Leningrad from 1941-1944 in which hundreds of thousands of civilians perished in air and artillery bombardment and from starvation due to the German blockade of the city.

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About 800 survivors who hid from the Nazis and their collaborators in France are included in the new pension allocations, as well as some 1,200 who survived persecution in Romania during the Holocaust.

Of the recipients, 2,000 live in Russia, 1,600 in Israel and the remainder in the US, Germany, France and other countries.

"Every year these negotiations become more and more critical," said Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference. "As this last generation of survivors age, their needs increase. Even 75 years after the Holocaust, these symbolic payments provide recognition and restore a piece of the dignity taken from survivors in their youth."

The newly negotiated region-specific pension program is now...