Needy Austrian Nazi victims living around the world can get medical assistance from a special fund.
The Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs, following negotiations with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, will now pay $2.65 million to $2.95 million annually to the Claims Conference’s Austrian Holocaust Survivor Emergency Assistance Program. The program’s previous funding is expiring.
“As Holocaust survivors age, their medical and social services needs increase,” said Moshe Jahoda, who headed the negotiations through the Claims Conference’s Committee on Jewish Claims Against Austria and himself is a child survivor. “We remain focused on issues that are of concern to Nazi victims around the world.â€
About 16,000 Austrian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust are living primarily in the United States, Britain, Israel and South America, according to the Claims Conference’s latest statistics.
No individual payments are being made by the Claims Conference from these funds. The new funds will be distributed and used by local social service agencies that provide dental work, hearing aids and eyeglasses, among other assistance. Survivors also may request assistance for a spouse.
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