The German government has agreed to pay 12.3 million euros (19 million dollars) to about 6,500 Jewish survivors of the Nazi occupation of Budapest, the Claims Conference announced Wednesday.
“In negotiations with the German government, the Claims Conference has secured payments for certain Jewish survivors of the Nazi occupation of Budapest,” the Claims Conference said in a statement.
The organization has been representing Jews in negotiating compensation and restitution for victims of Nazi persecution since 1951.
“In recognition of the incarceration and suffering of Budapest Holocaust survivors, certain Jewish survivors of Nazi-era Budapest — who currently reside in eastern Europe and previously did not receive any payments from certain major compensation programmes – will receive a one-time payment of 1,900 euros from the Claims Conference Budapest Fund,” the statement said.
In all, payments totalling 12.3 million euros would be issued to approximately 6,500 survivors living in Hungary.
Up until World War II, around 725,000 Jews were living in Hungary. But around 625,000 were deported and murdered by the Nazis in the death camps.
The conference said that in order to “streamline the process and distribute the funds as quickly as possible, the Claims Conference has reviewed over 25,000 files to identify eligible survivors”.
The application deadline for compensation is August 6, 2009.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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5 Responses
does this apply to the budapest citizens that were stuck there under communistic rule until 1956? If so, where do you apply?
Finally they have agreed to give, is there anyone still alive to accept?
What a slap in the face to all survivors. How can 1,900 euros be called a compensation?? A couple of thousand dollars for taking away their families, homes, and all their belongings,; it is mind boggeling!
my mother was in bergen belsen — received nothing
lost all her brothers and sisters and parents — received nothing
my father was in a “munkotaba” — work camp — received nothing — it was a hungarian work camp (not german) meaning he “volunteered” and he was there for less than six months according to hungarian “records” who they refuse to identify (because he was working for a well known hungarian / german company). so he gets nothing.
my father lost all his brothers and sisters and both parents — so he gets nothing!
let alone lost real estate (extensive holdings in tokay) and insurance policy he knows about, but they refuse to give the broker’s records — he even knows the brokers name! but NOTHING!!!
from the jta web site (claims conf press release)
To be eligible, the survivors must now live in Eastern Europe and may not have received payment from other funds.