The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany issued a report today revealing that during the years 1954 and 1955 it has allocated over $1,000,000 for the care of aged victims of Nazi persecution. The grants during 1955 for this purpose will amount to $702,284 and will aid in the construction, equipment, repair and maintenance of homes for the aged in 17 countries throughout the Jewish world. It is estimated that 1,800 aged victims of Nazi persecution will benefit from these grants. During 1954, $367,810 was expended for the care of the aged.
“These grants are in addition to funds which the Conference makes available for general cash relief programs in many countries which to a considerable extent are employed for the support of aged Nazi victims residing outside of institutions,” the report stated.
The greater portion of the Conference funds will provide aid in the lands of Europe which had fallen under the Nazi occupation, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Yugoslavia. Allocations were also granted for the use of aged refugees in Britain, Sweden and Switzerland as well as in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador and in Australia.
Among the major Conference allocations which will result in the expansion of institutional facilities are: 1. $100,000 during 1954 and 1955 for the repair of homes for the aged in West Germany; 2. $90,000 for the construction of a home to accommodate 50 persons in Antwerp, Belgium; 3. $180,000 for the establishment of two homes in London, expected to accommodate 100 Nazi victims; 4. $20,000 for the equipment of a home for the aged in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, which is expected to accommodate 120 persons.
“The programs for the aged to which the Conference granted its allocations are being conducted by established communal or social welfare organizations in the various lands The Conference allocations will be applied especially to programs for the care of the aged which cannot be met from the resources available to the local Jewish communities. This is particularly true in the case of urgent construction projects in formerly Nazi occupied countries, “the report stressed.
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