Reparation Programs

There are numerous programs offering aid and reparations to Holocaust survivors, but they must sort their way through a bureaucratic maze to understand them. In addition to the Swiss bank fund, for example, the German government has since 1952 been operating an indemnification program that provides eligible recipients with a pension. So far, the Germans have paid an estimated $50 billion worldwide in reparations.

Under controversial 1993 guidelines, payments from a newly established fund are only available to those who spent at least six months in a concentration camp, 18 months in a ghetto or 18 months in hiding--all as defined by German law. Claims citing medical debilitation must be reviewed and approved by the German government before payment can be approved.

There are also programs offering German social security payments to survivors, money for slave laborers in the Lodz ghetto and funds offered by the Austrian, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and Swiss governments. There are special funds to compensate victims for property and real estate confiscated by the Nazis.

In addition, there are programs being developed to pay insurance claims of Holocaust victims and their heirs. Negotiations are continuing with the German government to compensate those who performed slave labor.