On video: Holocaust survivor Yosef Efrat in a message to IDF soldiers/courtesy of the family
Ahead of International Holocaust Day, which will be celebrated on Saturday, the Claims Conference publishes a first report of its kind on Holocaust survivors living around the world: about 245,000 Holocaust survivors live today in over 90 countries, 49% of them live in Israel and 18% of them live in the United States.
Also, from the geographical segmentation between the countries, it was found that 18% of the Holocaust survivors live in Western Europe, and another 12% live in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The rest live in different communities around the world.
The data shows that 95% of Holocaust survivors are children of Holocaust survivors born between 1928-1946.
The median age of Holocaust survivors is 86. The age range of Holocaust survivors alive today ranges from 77 to over 100, that is, those born between 1910-1946.
20% percent of Jewish Holocaust survivors have passed the age of 90, an age at which many need nursing assistance and special services.
The report also shows that most Holocaust survivors living today are women, about 61%, and 39% are men.
The March of Life in the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland. April 18, 2023/Official website, Yossi Zeliger
Close to 40% of Holocaust survivors receive monthly payments through the Claims Conference programs, in accordance with an agreement with the German government, while the rest of the population is entitled to one-time or annual payments.
The Claims Conference is a non-profit organization, founded in 1951 in order to secure substantial material compensation for Holocaust survivors worldwide from the German government.
The organization conducts negotiations for Jewish Holocaust survivors living around the world, distributes funds to individuals and organizations, and seeks to return Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust.
During 2023, the Claims Conference distributed approximately $562 million of the German government's compensation funds to more than 200,000 Holocaust survivors in 83 countries, and will allocate over $750 million in grants to more than 300 agencies and organizations around the world that provide essential services to Holocaust survivors, such as Home care, food, medicine and welfare and mental health services.
As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid more than $90 billion in compensation to people for suffering and loss resulting from Nazi persecution.
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Greg Schneider, Vice President of the Claims Conference explains that the published information is important and relevant precisely at this time: "The report presents us with interesting and important data, but it is also important to look beyond the numbers. The people behind the numbers are Jews who were born into a world that wanted to see them murdered, went through the horrors of the Holocaust in their youth, and had to rebuild an entire life from the ashes of the camps and ghettos that put an end to their families and communities. The data and numbers we see in the report force us to accept the reality that the survivors of the Holocaust will not be with us forever. Indeed, we have already lost most of the survivors."
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