German Gov’t Removes Deadline for Holocaust Pension Program

Serving Our Survivors (SOS), a program of Jewish Family Service of Colorado (JFS), has announced that the recently announced deadline to apply for the one-time Ghetto Fund payment of €2,000 from the German government has been abolished. As a result of recent negotiations by the Claims Conference, the German government has agreed to remove the application deadline for application to the Ghetto Work Fund, which provides a one-time payment of €2,000 to certain Jewish survivors of Nazi-era ghettos. The Ghetto Fund previously had an application deadline of December 31, 2011.

In addition, the German government recently agreed that eligible Jewish survivors of Nazi-controlled ghettos in World War II who worked “without force” are now entitled to receive both German Social Security payments and the Ghetto Fund one-time payment of €2,000. Previously, eligible survivors were not entitled to receive both, but Claims Conference negotiations have resulted in a change to German law on this issue.

Ghetto survivors who have not yet applied to the Ghetto Fund or the Ghetto Pension should do so at once. There is no deadline to apply for the Ghetto Pension or the one-time award of €2,000 from the Ghetto Fund.  The “Ghetto Fund” is administered by Germany’s BADV federal office. The basic prerequisites for the payment are that the survivor (1) was forced to live in a ghetto in an area that was occupied by Germany or allied to it and (2) performed voluntary work.

Ghetto Payments Amendment of 2011
Recent changes to German law now allow eligible Jewish survivors of ghettos who worked “without force” and for some form of remuneration to receive both German Social Security payments and a one-time payment of €2,000. Previously, eligible survivors were not entitled to receive both.

The fund’s one-time payment of €2,000 was created to acknowledge ghetto survivors who had been rejected for German Social Security payments and it came as a response to intense international pressure spearheaded by the Claims Conference.

For information on criteria and how to apply: http://www.claimscon.org/index.asp?url=badv

PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE NOT CLAIMS CONFERENCE PROGRAMS. CLAIMANTS MUST APPLY TO THE RELEVANT GERMAN GOVERNMENT OFFICES LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE.

Mirella Schreiber, JFS SOS coordinator, is available to answer questions and provide information about the application process. Please contact her at (720) 248-4640 or mschreiber@jewishfamilyservice.org. The application and instructions are available on the JFS Web site.