(JTA) — Some 8,000 Romanian Jewish Holocaust survivors living in Israel will officially be recognized by Germany and receive a monthly compensation up to $225, the German government said.
The statement Thursday by the German government also said the move will include retroactive payments to cover the last 20 years. Every survivor is set to receive a total of anywhere between $27,000 to $54,300 in addition to the monthly compensation.
The move is expected to cost Germany about $420 million in reparations.
The survivors in question are Jews who lived in 20 cities around Romania, including Iași, Galați, Piatra Neamț, Constanța, Ștefănești and Bacău, and were either directly or indirectly impacted by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu’s collaboration with the Nazi regime or by the Nazis themselves following Antonescu’s removal from power, Israel Hayom reported.
Heirs to Romanian Holocaust survivors born after 1910 and who died after June 1, 2002 will also be eligible to sue for reparations from the German government.
To be eligible for the stipend, survivors must have lived or been deported from the 20 cities listed in the decree during the Holocaust.
The agreement was reached following negotiations over 10 months between Jerusalem and Berlin.
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