A Plan for Allocating Successor Organization Resources
Report of the Planning Committee, Conference On Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
June 28, 2000 25 Sivan 5760
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Rabbi Israel Miller, President, Conference On Jewish Material Claims Against Germany 15 East 26 Street New York, New York
Dear Israel,
I am pleased to enclose A Plan for Allocating Successor Organization Resources, the report of the distinguished Planning Committee which I have had the honor of chairing.
The Committee has completed a thoughtful ten-month process, carefully reviewing the issues and exploring a variety of options before coming to the conclusions contained in this document. We trust that you will bring these recommendations to the Board of Directors of the Claims Conference for review and action.
Through this experience, I have become convinced that the work of the Claims Conference is not adequately understood or appreciated. I hope that this report and the results of this planning process will help dispel the confusion about the past and future achievements of the Claims Conference.
No amount of money can compensate for the destruction of innocent human beings and thriving communities or the decimation of the Jewish people as a whole by the Nazis. We can try to use available resources - specifically the proceeds of the sale of communal and unclaimed property in the former East Germany - to respond to the most critical needs related to the consequences of the Shoah. This is what the enclosed Plan tries to accomplish.
I want to thank the members of the Committee who came from near and far for their attendance and commitment, and for the high quality of their participation. The staff of the Claims Conference, led with great distinction by Gideon Taylor, made a significant contribution to our work. Jack Ukeles, our consultant prepared valuable material, facilitated our discussions, and drafted this report. And finally, I am deeply grateful to you for your leadership in this effort and the work of the Claims Conference. The entire Jewish people are in your debt.
Professor A. Leo Levin, Chairman, Planning Committee Conference On Jewish Material Claims Against Germany Philadelphia, June 26, 2000
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The Planning Committee
Leo Levin, Chairman Abraham Hirchson University of Pennsylvania Law MK, Chairman School Parliamentary Committee for the Return of Jewish Property Nina Bassat President Roman Kent Executive Council of Australian Chairman Jewry American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Moshe Bejski Supreme Court Justice, retired Michael Koll-Nesher Chairman, Massua Chairman Irgun Olej Merkas Europa Cobi Benatoff President Ben Meed European Council of Jewish President Communities American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Julius Berman Claims Conference Counsel Michael Melchior Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Minister Handler Ministry of Israeli Society and World Jewish Community Abraham Biderman Vice President Sallai Meridor Agudath Israel World Organization Chairman The Jewish Agency for Israel Nicolae Cajal President Israel Miller Federation of Jewish Communities in President Romania Claims Conference
Menachem Elon Alexander Osovtsov Supreme Court Justice, retired CEO, Vice President Russian Jewish Congress Noach Flug Secretary-General Marlene Post Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Survivors in Israel Organization of America, Inc.
Ben Helfgott Moshe Sanbar Chairman Chairman '45 Aid Society Holocaust Survivors Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel
3
Alexander Schindier Israel Singer President Secretary General Memorial Foundation World Jewish Congress
Michael Schneider Jeff Solomon Executive Vice President President Joint Distribution Committee Andrea & Charles Bronfman Philanthropies Anita Shapira Tel Aviv University Adolph Steg Chairman Alliance Israelite Universelle
Planning Committee Consultant: Dr. Jack Ukeles
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Contents
I. Introduction
A. Background B. The Planning Process C. The Planning Committee D. Work Process
II. Allocation Issues
III. Recommendations
A. Background B. Allocation Principles C. Funding Principles D. Allocation Criteria Appendices 1 An Estimate of the Current Distribution of Victims of Nazi Persecution 2 Projection of the Population of Victims of Nazi Persecution, 2000- 2040 3 Projection of Successor Organization Revenue 4 Needs For Successor Organization Funds 5 Submissions to the Committee 6 Announcements and Press Releases
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I. INTRODUCTION A. Background
The Claims Conference has three areas of responsibility:
• It is the international umbrella organization representing world Jewry in negotiations for compensation from the German and Austrian governments and other entities related to the Holocaust.
• The Claims Conference also is an operating agency that administers compensation funds and recovers Jewish property.
• The Claims Conference allocates funds to institutions that provide social welfare services to surviving victims of Nazi persecution and preserves the memory and lessons of the Shoah.
It is the third function - the allocation function - that is the focus of this report.
B. The Planning Process
This report documents the results of a ten-month planning process to help the Board and professional leadership of the Claims Conference to develop principles for allocating resources among a range of competing, legitimate needs. As the "successor organization," the Claims Conference is responsible for the allocation of resources from the sale, in the former East Germany, of Jewish communal property and the unclaimed property of individual Jews.
In virtually every public and community allocation process, where legitimate needs typically exceed available resources, disagreements about the use of resources define a series of allocation issues or choices. The Claims Conference faces agonizing choices among valid claims for the use of these resources. The complexity of these choices is underscored by the individual and community trauma associated with the murder of innocent Jewish victims. The pain associated with the Shoah and the sense of individual and collective abandonment expressed by surviving victims of Nazi persecution weighs heavily on the allocation process.
While there is no completely objective standard for making such painful and difficult choices, a systematic and open process can assemble and integrate relevant information, explicate appropriate values, and create a forum within which reasonable people can come to agreement about a fair and balanced allocation.
6 C. The Planning Committee
A blue-ribbon Planning Committee guided the planning process. The President of the Claims Conference, Rabbi Israel Miller, selected its members to represent a cross-section of the leadership of the global Jewish community.1
The committee met for three intensive all-day meetings - in November in New York City; in March in Jerusalem; and in June in New York City.
At the first meeting committee members were introduced to each other; reviewed the committee's mandate and work plan; reviewed a profile of recent allocation history; and most important, shared each other's perspectives on the committee's mandate in an atmosphere of mutual respect and with a cooperative spirit.
At the second meeting, the committee reviewed and discussed reports on the number, characteristics and geographic distribution of surviving Nazi victims; considered what resources were likely to be available from the sale of property; examined a projection of the probable number of surviving Nazi victims in the future, discussed the allocation issues that the Committee needed to resolve; and discussed general principles of allocation that might be applicable.2
The focus of the third meeting was a presentation on the world-wide needs of Nazi victims; a discussion of allocation principles and criteria; and a series of committee decisions about a set of allocation recommendations to be transmitted to the Board of Directors of the Claims Conference.
D. The Work Process
In support of the Committee's work, and working with the professional staff of the Claims Conference, the consultant: interviewed key informants representing a range of relevant constituencies and viewpoints; analyzed previous allocations data; collected, analyzed and adjusted existing information about the number and characteristics of surviving victims of Nazi persecution; projected the future population of Nazi victims; estimated net revenue from sale of communal property; interviewed experts and collected information about needs for services and programs; and identified allocation issues and possible allocation principles and criteria drawing on key informant interviews and committee discussions. Furthermore, the Committee reviewed submissions from interested parties. These submissions arose ouhof the official press announcement of the establishment of the Committee, as well as requests for submissions in mailings to the Board of Directors of the Claims Conference, letters to interested parties,
1 The members of the Committee are listed on the inside cover of this Report. 2 The term "Nazi victim", as used in this Report, refers only to Jewish victims.
7 and a public announcement in "Update", the newsletter of the Claims Conference.
II. ALLOCATION ISSUES
Allocation issues are the questions that the Planning Committee sought to answer or resolve. They include philosophical as well as practical questions:
1. To whom does the Successor Organization property belong?
2. What needs should be eligible for the resources of the Claims Conference acting as successor organization?
3. What is the appropriate balance between different types of needs?
4. Should there be a geographic criterion for the allocation of resources? If yes, what is the appropriate geographic balance within each category of eligible needs?
5. What is the appropriate balance between current and future needs for each category of need? In other words, should the Claims Conference set up an endowment fund to meet long-term needs, and if so, with what proportion of resources?
6. Should successor organization funds be used to leverage other funds or should these funds be used to meet needs regardless of leveraging opportunities? To what extent should the Claims Conference be reactive or proactive in its funding?
III. RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Background
From its earliest days, the Claims Conference had to struggle with issues of "principles of eligibility, the purposes for which Conference funds could be spent, the procedures for investigating and deciding on applications, and the nature of the cultural program which the Conference would support."3 A special subcommittee of the Executive Committee was set up to prepare recommendations on allocations. Nine principles were adopted by the Executive Committee in 1955:
3 (Zweig, 1987), p. 71.
8 1. All allocations must be governed by the contractual obligations of the Conference. 2. No new agencies will be created by the Conference for the spending of allocated funds. 3. No allocations shall be made to compensate institutions or individuals for property losses incurred as result of Nazi action. 4. No allocations shall be made to reimburse organizations for past expenditures in connection with the relief and rehabilitation of Nazi victims. 5. Conference funds should not be a substitute for local fund-raising or enable local organizations to forego assistance which they might otherwise obtain nor to forego the use of local funds existing for the purposes requested in the application. 6. Conference funds should not be allocated to new institutions principally created for the purpose of receiving Conference funds, unless there are compelling reasons to do so. 7. The Conference shall make allocations only to recognized, functioning, relief organizations, unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise. 8. The Conference shall not make direct allocations to individuals, except in special cases. 9. Communities largely dependent on external aid shall have priority over communities independent of external aid.
These principles have generally guided the Conference's work to this day. The following recommendations incorporate most of these principles, albeit in a somewhat re-structured format.
There are three levels of allocation decision guidelines:
• Allocation Principles - These embody the broadest values and policy guidelines of the Claims Conference governing the use of available resources;
• Funding Principles - These embody the strategic guidelines aimed at maximizing the impact of Claims Conference resources;
• Allocation Criteria - These are the guidelines governing the division of the available resources among competing areas of need. Ideally they reflect the principles at a more concrete level.
B. Allocation Principles
1. The Shoah was an evil that diminished the entire human family, irreparably harmed the Jewish people, destroyed and desecrated
9 Jewish communities, families and individuals. No amount of money in the world can reverse this harm.
2. Resources can, and should be used, to meet current and future needs that are a consequence of the Shoah. These consequences affect individual surviving victims of Nazi persecution, Jewish communities, the entire Jewish people, and the entire human family.
3. Caring for and about Nazi victims, or remembering the Shoah is not only the responsibility of the Claims Conference, but of the entire organized Jewish community, and ultimately of the whole Jewish people.
4. Needs which cannot be related to the consequences of the Shoah should not be eligible for successor organization funds. The Jewish community does have other resources to deal with other needs of the community. If the Claims Conference does not use its funds to meet needs which are a consequence of the Shoah, there is no assurance that anyone else will.
5. Whether one believes that successor organization funds belong to the Jewish people or to victims of Nazi persecution or both, the highest priority should go to social welfare needs of the most vulnerable surviving Nazi victims.
C. Funding Principles
1. The Claims Conference should continue to seek to leverage its resources - maximizing contributions from other funding sources, especially for major expenditures.
2. The Claims Conference should be proactive as well as reactive in its funding policies. This has three implications for how funding is done:
a. The Claims Conference should engage in an ongoing process of defining needs.4 The results of the needs assessment should be circulated widely to current and potential future grantees.
b. From time to time, the Claims Conference could circulate a Priorities Bulletin, focusing on areas where the regular flow of applications does not seem to be responsive to important needs identified in the needs assessment, and inviting proposals.
'This study represents the initial round of needs assessment. These findings will need to be updated periodically, as the patterns of need will shift over time.
10 c. From time to time, the Claims Conference could circulate a Request For Proposals (RFP), soliciting competing proposals in a particular priority area and funding the best of competing submissions.
3. In a number of major program areas, the Claims Conference has operated in partnership with others.
a. Given the large number of individual Foundations and Funds with interests related to the Shoah, the Claims Conference should be proactive in seeking additional strategic funding partners in response to high-priority areas of need.
b. The Claims Conference could consider a multi-year planning and budgeting relationship with key institutions and partners.
4. The Conference should continue to fund institutions and agencies and should not create new agencies with Claims Conference funds.
Allocation Criteria
1. Priority of Need
Allocations should be based on priorities of need based on the following considerations:
(a) Priority should go to meet the welfare needs of the neediest Nazi victims based on their economic circumstances, health conditions and other services available to them. (b) Special priority should go to programs benefiting needy Nazi victims which enhance and strengthen the State of Israel as in the past.
Special regard should be given to those who were in concentration camps, labor camps or ghettos.
2. Funds for Welfare Needs
Regarding welfare needs, the Claims Conference should establish a special "Fund for Lifetime Needs" over the next 10 to 15 years in order to help meet the lifetime needs of Nazi victims. There will be a significant number of Nazi victims alive during this period - particularly those who were children at the time of the Holocaust. Initially, approximately $80
11 million should be placed in this Fund with the intention of adding further funds depending on welfare needs and financial factors during the coming years. After the next few years, these funds will be spent on a diminishing basis. A limited sum should be retained to be spent on emergency needs arising 10 to 15 years after the creation of the Fund.
3. Funds for Research, Documentation & Education
Regarding research, documentation and education needs, the Claims Conference should establish a Special Fund for Research, Documentation and Education about the Shoah in the Jewish community and general community, and for Jewish education generally related to the Shoah.
Allocations should be made from the Special Fund based on the following considerations:
(a) Over the next three to five years the priority in allocation should go to documentation that is urgent (e.g. preservation of fragile archival material) and education about the Shoah especially for young people that wherever possible, involves surviving Nazi victims. (b) Over time, the proportion of funds allocated should shift to specific 0 r"T> Shoah-related education as well as*5cIucation about broader ioattes" ^ related tn nnd arioing out of tho Shoah (e.g. Jewish civilization and jjx sv culture, etc.) «c+ leasv- Initially, approximately $20 million should be placed in this Special Fund with the intention of adding further funds.
4. Allocation
The Claims Conference should continue to allocate the vast majority of its funds for the welfare needs of Nazi victims.
The Claims Conference should continue to allocate 20% of the Successor Organization funds for the purposes of research, documentation and education.
If additional sources of funds are forthcoming to the Claims Conference this allocation formula should be reviewed.
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APPENDICES
Appendix One An Estimate of the Current Distribution of Victims of Nazi Persecution
Introduction
There are no reliable, agreed-upon statistics on the number of surviving Jewish victims of Nazi persecution living in the world today.5 There are certainly no statistics on their ages, economic circumstances or any other characteristics.6 The numbers presented in the following pages are estimates, based on the best available information. These estimates represent a careful and exhaustive effort to piece together the best that is available. The methods for estimating Nazi victims vary by location; statistically reliable survey information is available for a large part of the population of Nazi victims in Israel and there is some survey data for the FSU.
Scope
This section includes rough estimates for the following information: • The size of the population of Nazi victims, by geographic area; • The percent of the world population of Nazi victims living in each area; • The size of the population of Nazi victims, by age; • The percent of each area's Jewish population and older Jewish population that are Nazi victims;7 • The number of Nazi victims who are under economic duress, by area.
Estimates for the size of the Nazi victim population are presented for the year 2000. Other data is presented for the most recent time period available. Although this introduces a slight inconsistency in the data, it is preferable to using older data for the sake of consistency where more recent data are available. Definitions
Two definitions are relevant to this data: the definition of a Jewish person and the definition of a victim of Nazi persecution.
*The Claims Conference may wish to address the issue of the lack of reliable information at some time in the future.
6 The term "Nazi victim", as used in this paper, refers only to Jewish victims.
7ln order to develop these measures, one needs an estimate of Jewish population by area and Jewish population by age.
13 There are three levels of definition of a Jewish person:
1. The core Jewish population consists of adults who self-define as a Jew or a child being raised as a Jew.
2. The core + peripheral Jewish population includes core Jews (Group 1) as well as those who were born or raised Jewish, but may no longer consider themselves Jewish and the non-Jewish spouses and children of Jews.
3. Israel's Law of Return definition of Jewish population includes Groups 1 and 2 as well as people who had a Jewish parent or grandparent.
Since almost all the data are based on secondary sources, it is sometimes difficult to tell which definition is being used. To the extent possible, data are presented for Jewish persons defined as "core Jews" (Group 1).
There are also various definitions of a Nazi victim in use in different programs; different estimates of the population of Nazi victims use different definitions as well.8 It is not always possible to be precise about definitions where data are so sparse. To the extent possible, the information presented in this report uses the following definition:9
Definition of a Nazi Victim: A Jew who lived in a country at the time when it was under a Nazi regime, under Nazi occupation, or under the regime of Nazi collaborators or who fled to a country or region not under Nazi rule or occupation due to Nazi rule or Nazi occupation.1011
Two Caveats: (1) This is a broad, and inclusive definition; if a narrower definition were used, the numbers of Nazi victims would be considerably smaller; (2) This definition includes anyone who was bom before 1945. If for example, one included only people who were 10 years old at the end of the war, the numbers would only be about 75% as large.
8 Wherever possible the definitions associated with varying estimates are presented along side those estimates in Appendices.
9 This is the definition generally used by Claims Conference in relation to social welfare services for Nazi victims.
10 The definition includes only people who lived in regions of Russia under Nazi occupation or rule, as the entire country was not under Nazi rule.
11 "Flight cases" includes people who fled shortly before their country was invaded, those who fled during the Nazi invasion of their country before it was entirely occupied, or those whofled shortl y after their country was occupied.
14 This definition does not include veterans of the war against the Nazis or people, in particular in Russia, in areas that were not occupied by the Nazis, who suffered as a consequence of the war with the Nazis.
The Size of the Population of Nazi Victims, by Geographic Area
Using the broad definition, there are an estimated 832,000 to 935,000 Nazi victims in the world today.
The geographic distribution of Nazi victims is one important factor in considering the allocation of resources especially as it relates to social welfare needs.
• The largest number of Nazi victims are in Israel: 326,000 to 355,000; • The second largest number are in the FSU: 194,000 to 222,000; • In West^R^ISrofji', there are 142,000 to 169,000 Nazi victims; • In the United States, there are 127,000 to 146,000 Nazi victims; • In the rest of the world, there are about 43,000 Nazi victims.
The Percent of the World Population of Nazi Victims Living in Each Area12
• Israel has the largest percentage of Nazi victims of any region in the world - 35% to 43%; • The second largest group of Nazi victims lives in the FSU - 21% to 27%; • 15% to 20% live in Western and Eastern Europe; • 14% to 18% live in the United States; • About 5% live in the rest of the world.
For the sake of clarity, in the balance of this paper, only a single estimate is used for the population of Nazi victims by geographic area. The low end of the range appears to include the more plausible estimates. The same analysis could be done using the high end of the range.
In all charts, percentages in columns may not equal 100.0% because of rounding.
12The "low" percentage is the ratio of the "low" estimate for each region to the ""high" estimate for the world; the "high" percentage is the ratio of the "high" estimate for each region to the "low" estimate for the world.
15 Exhibit 1.1Estimate d Population of Nazi Victims, Number and Percent, by Geographic Area, 200013
Geographic Area Nazi Victims
Number Per Cent14
Low High Low High
Israel 326,000 355,000 35% 43%
FSU 194,000 222,000 21% 27%
Europe 142,000 169,000 15% 20%
Eastern & Central Europe 46,000 73,000 Western Europe 96,500 96,500
United States 127,000 146,000 14% 18% Rest of the 43,000 43,000 5% 5% World Latin America Canada Australia South Africa Other
Total 832,000 935,000 NA NA
Age of Nazi Victims
It is 55 years since the end of the Shoah. Any living Nazi victim under 65 had to have survived the Shoah as an infant or young child - this was most likely for those in hiding, or whose parents were able to flee, or in the few isolated spots where Jews were not deported. Thus, the vast majority of Nazi victims are over 65 today.
13 All estimates in exhibits in these Appendices are rounded to the nearest thousand. In this exhibit, and the remainder of the exhibits in this paper, column or row entries may not equal the total because of rounding.
14 The "low" percentage is the ratio of the "low" estimate for each region to the ""high" estimate for the world; the "high" percentage is the ratio of the "high" estimate for each region to the "low" estimate for the world.
16 The only reliable data regarding the age distribution for Nazi victims is from Israel. These data have then been extrapolated to the rest of the world.15 The largest group of Nazi victims is between 65 and 74. The age distributions are as follows:
* 25% of the Nazi victims are under 65; • 40% are between the ages of 65 and 74; * 35% are over 75.
While this age distribution is based on Israeli data, it should be noted that the age distribution of recipients of JDC social welfare services in the FSU - about Vi are Nazi victims - is similar to this distribution.
Exhibit 2. Estimated Population of Nazi Victims, by Age, 2000
Age Number Per Cent
under 65 208,000 25%
65 to 74 333,000 40%
75 to 84 216,000 26%
85 and over 75,000 9%
Total 832,000 100%
Nazi Victims as a Percent of Each Area's Total and Older Jewish Population
Worldwide, Nazi victims represent only about 6% of world Jewry, but about 27% of all the Jews in the world who are over 55. Older victims of Nazi persecution
15 For the first time, questions aimed at identifying Nazi victims were included in a national survey of non-institutionalized Israelis aged 60+ living in urban areas. The survey was carried out by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 1997. The JDC-Brookdale Institute, JDC-lsrael, ESHEL, the National Insurance Institute and various government ministries participated in the planning and funding of this survey. The JDC-Brookdale Institute is currently completing a further analysis of this data.
17 are a significant subset of the population of older Jews in the world and as such need to be on the agenda of the global Jewish community.16
But there are dramatic differences in the percentages of Jewish populations and of older Jews who are Nazi victims in different parts of the world. These differences may have strategic implications for how resources are deployed. For example, where Nazi victims represent a significant proportion of the Jewish community, and particularly older Jews, the situation may call for larger-scale programs and close coordination between programs aimed at meeting needs of all older Jewish people and those aimed at specific needs of Nazi victims. On the other hand where Nazi victims represent a relatively small proportion of the Jewish community and of older Jews, a more targeted approach may be called for.
In relation to the Jewish community in general, Nazi victims represented approximately: • One in three of the Jews in the FSU * One in eight Jews in Europe (including nearly half in Eastern Europe) • 1 in 14 Jews in Israel • 1 in 50 in the United States • 1 in 25 in the rest of the world17
In relation to the older Jewish population, Nazi victims represent approximately:
• More than half of the older Jews in the FSU • Nearly half of the older Jews in Europe (including nearly eight out of ten in Eastern Europe) • Two out of five of the older Jews in Israel • One in ten of the older Jews in the United States • One in five in the rest of the world18
In summary, the relative position of Nazi victims is radically different in different places. In the FSU, Nazi victims are a significant proportion of the total Jewish community and especially of older Jews.
In Israel, which has the youngest Jewish population of any Jewish community in the world, Nazi victims are a significant proportion of the older population, but not a very significant proportion of the total population. Europe is similar, although
16 The first International Conference on Aging in the Jewish World (Jerusalem, 1999), partially funded by the Claims Conference, had as one of its streams, a series of sessions on the needs of Nazi victims.
17 On average; it is significantly higher in some countries such as Australia.
1sOn average; it is significantly higher in some countries such as Australia.
18 not to the same degree - Nazi victims are much more significant as a proportion of the older population than of the Jewish population in general.
In the United States, Nazi victims are not a significant portion of the total Jewish population nor of the older Jewish population. The situation in the rest of the world is more like the United States, but not to the same degree ~ Nazi victims represent a higher percentage of the total Jewish community and of older Jews. These relationships are summarized in Exhibit 3.
19 Exhibit 3. Estimated Total Jewish Population, Jewish Population 55 and Over, Estimated Population of Nazi Victims, Per Cent of Jewish Population who are Nazi Victims, Per Cent of Population 55 and Over who are Nazi Victims, by Geographic Area, 2000
Col 4 Col 5 Col 1 Col 2 Col 3 [Col 3/Col 11 rCol 3/Col 21 Est. Total Geographic Est. Total Est. Population of Nazi Victims as Nazi Victims Areas Jewish Population Population of Jews 55 and over Nazi Victims a % of Jewish as % of Jews, Population 55 and over
Israel 4,743,000 A 853,000 F 326,000 7% 38%
FSU 573,000 D 354,000 D 194,000 34% 55%
Europe 1,107,000 G 307,000 G 142,000 13% 46%
Eastern & Central Europe 102,000 C 60,000 46,000 45% 77% Western Europe 1,005,000 C 247,000 96,000 10% 39%
United States 5,515,000 B 1,335,000 G 127,000 2% 10%
Rest of the World 1,005,000 248,000 G 43,000 4% 17%
Latin America 435,000 C 111,000 G Canada 360,000 C 82,000 G Oceania 100,000 C 26,000 G South Africa 70,000 E 20.000 G Other 40,000 C 9,000 G
Total 12,943,000 3,097,000 832,000 6% 27%
Notes: A Statistical Abstract of Israel, 1999, Table 2.1, page 2-7 B Estimate of the number of core Jews, NJPS, 1991 C 1998 American Jewish Yearbook - Sergio Delia Pergola 1996 estimates D Delia Pergola estimates increased by 25% based on estimate of number of Jews not reporting their nationality as Jewish E Jewish Institute for Social Policy, London 1999 study of South African Jewish Community F Calculated from Statistical Abstract of Israel and Study of 60+ G Based on Delia Pergola 1996 estimates
20 Number of Nazi Victims who are Under Economic Duress
There is very little specific data available on the economic situation of Nazi victims. Much of the information is inferential, based on partial information collected by providers, data about older Jewish persons in general and anecdotal information about the condition of Nazi victims.1
Israel A relatively small proportion of older Israelis are poor.20 Over 20% of older Israelis are under the poverty line.21 Applying this percentage to the estimated 326,000 Nazi victims in Israel, there are about 65,000 Nazi victims living in poverty in Israel. This may be an over-estimate. Except for recent arrivals from the FSU, the economic situation of Nazi victims is probably significantly better than the economic circumstances of immigrants from the Middle East and other Arab countries. About 28% of the older Jews who came to Israel from countries affected by the Shoah (including all of Russia), receive supplementary payments from the National Insurance Institute - including income maintenance allowances, general disability allowances, and old age pensions with supplementary income. These payments move many or most of these individuals out of poverty.
An approximate measure of the near-poor can be found in the percentage of older Israelis who would have been below the poverty line if it were not for transfer payments and benefits. Thic figure it ^bout 63% of older Israelis^ bJ Applied to the Nazi victims population, and subtracting those in poverty already estimated, there appear to be about 140,000 Nazi victims who are near-poor. The economic situation of Nazi victims residing in Israel is as follows:
• About 65,000 are poor • About 140,000 are near-poor • About 120,000 are at least moderate income
19The definition of economic duress is not comparable across areas: most social policy analysts who study poverty agree that a relative, rather than an absolute, definition of poverty is the most meaningful.
20The definition of poverty in Israel is similar to that used in most European countries: it is % of the median income. Because of the relative strength of Israel's safety net, there is a great discrepancy between poverty measured before income transfers and after. In this discussion, the latter definition is-
21National Insurance Institute(NII), Annual Survey, 1996(4f. The definition of "older persons" used by the Nil includes men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over. The data includes both Jews and non-Jews.
21 FSU Of the estimated 354,000 Jewish persons over the age of 55 in the FSU, 55% are estimated to be Nazi victims. About 180,000 of those 55 and over are currently receiving welfare services from the JDC. Eligibility is associated with severe poverty. Applying the percentage of Nazi victims to those receiving services, there are an estimated 99,000 Jewish persons in poverty who are Nazi victims. But the JDC welfare programs do not reach every older person in the FSU who is poor. An additional 20% are believed to be eligible for these services. In addition, there are an estimated 40,000 Nazi victims who are believed to be poor by definitions operating in other parts of the world; in the context of the FSU, they can be considered near-poor. Only about 35,000 are able to manage on their own. In sum:
• About 119,000 are poor (actually indigent); • About 40,000 are near-poor (would be considered poor anywhere else); • About 35,000 are at least moderate income.
Western Europe & Eastern Europe It is reasonable to assume that Western Europe is close to the Israel situation with moderate incomes and a strong safety net. Eastern Europe is closer to the situation in the FSU, but of course with much smaller numbers, and somewhat better economic conditions.
Western Europe • About 19,000 are poor; • About 41,000 are near-poor; • About 36,000 are at least moderate income.
Eastern Europe • About 21,000 are poor; • About 13,000 are near-poor; • About 12,000 are at least moderate income.
United States There is very little information on the economic conditions of Jews in the United States. The estimates presented below are based on a detailed analysis of poverty in one large Northeastern Jewish community.22 Median incomes for the Philadelphia Jewish community are in the middle of the range for US Jewish communities that have had population studies. It also has a relatively large immigrant population, and is more relevant to the economic conditions of Nazi victims than many other places. The study found that about 13% of the Jewish households headed by someone over 65 were under the poverty levels as
22 Economic Vulnerability: Jews at Risk. The Greater Philadelphia Jewish Population Study, 1996/97.
22 established by the US government.23 Another 17% were defined as lower income or "near-poor."24 The study found that the poorest group in the community is made up of recent immigrants from the FSU who were over 65. Eighty percent of the people in this group were poor or lower income. Clearly this group includes a substantial proportion of Nazi victims. Applying the Philadelphia percentages to the estimated number of Nazi victims in the US:
• About 17,000 are poor; • About 21,000 are near-poor; • About 89,000 are at least moderate income. The Rest of the World Assuming that the situation in the rest of the world is between someplace the United States and Western Europe:
• About 9,000 are poor; • About 12,000 are near-poor; • About 22,000 are at least moderate income.
These estimates are combined in Exhibit 4 to show the overall picture of economic duress of Nazi victims. Three out often Nazi victims are believed to live in poverty world-wide. Nearly half of the poor Nazi victims live in the FSU compared with only about one-quarter of the Nazi victims of all income levels.
231996 Us Poverty standards: $7,740 for a single person and $10,360 for a couple.
24 $15,000 for a single person; $25,000 for a couple.
23 Exhibit 4. Approximate number of Nazi victims, by level of economic stress and geograph ic area
Poor Near-Poor Moderate Income Total & Above Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Number Per Cent
FSU 119,000 47% 40,000 15% 35,000 11% 194,000 23%
Israel 65,000 26% 140,000 52% 121,000 39% 326,000 39%
Western & Eastern Europe 41,000 16% 54,000 20% 47,000 15% 142,000 17%
Western Europe 19,000 41,000 36,000 96.00C Eastern Europe 21,000 13,000 12,000 46,000
United States 17,000 7% 21,000 8% 89,000 28% 127,000 15°/«
Rest of the World (Includes Australia; Canada; Latin 9,000 4% 12,000 4% 22,000 7% 43,000 5°/ America, South Africa & Other)
TOTAL 251,000 100% 267,000 100°/J 314,000 100% 832,000 100°/
30% 32% 38% 100%
24 Appendix 1.1 Overview: Estimating the number of surviving Nazi victims
The purpose of Appendix 1.1 is to summarize previous work in this area and to present, in some detail, the assumptions and methods used to develop the estimates presented in Appendix One. This will enable future researchers to improve these estimates when and where better information becomes available.
The most comprehensive previous effort to estimate the number of surviving Nazi victims by geographic area was prepared between May and July of 1997 by a committee organized by the Prime Minister's Office. The Committee consisted of E. Spanic, Chair; H. Factor; and W. Struminski.25 This estimate was developed using a broad definition of Nazi victim (i.e. including flight cases). These estimates were revised slightly in May of 1998 by H. Factor and W. Struminski.26 These revised estimates were done both for the broad definition used in the 1997 estimate and for the narrow definition (not including flight cases).27 Both of these estimates were built up from the sources of information and estimation methods appropriate to different parts of the world. A key assumption of the 1998 estimate was that "in every country where data exists regarding FSU- and Polish-origin survivors, we estimated the percentage of those living under Nazi occupation was 50% and 33% respectively."
Alternative estimates for different geographic areas are provided where several different estimates exist. Since most of the information on which estimates are based are for 1997-1998, these estimates had to be updated to 2000.
Appendix Exhibit 1.1 includes a summary of the results of various estimates used in the process of preparing this Report.
25 Estimated Number of Holocaust Victims Alive Today Memorandum, July 27,1997(translated from the Hebrew).
26 Estimate of Holocaust survivors Memorandum, from H. Factor to G. Taylor, May 11,1998. 27 Broad Definition: a Holocaust survivor will be defined as a Jew who has lived in a country at a time when it was under Nazi regime under Nazi occupation under the regime of Nazi collaborators as well as any Jew who fled due the above regime or occupation
Narrow Definition: A Holocaust survivor will be defined as a Jew who has lived in a country at a time when it was under Nazi regime under Nazi occupation under the regime of Nazi collaborators
25 Appendix Exhibit 1.1 Estimated Number of Nazi Victims, by Geographic Area, 1997 and 2000 Estimated Number of Nazi Victims I 1997 2000 (Ukeles) | Details in: Spanic et. al Factor & Ukeles Low High (1997) Struminski (2000) Estimate Estimate (1998) Israel 360,000 to 360,000 to 338,000 325,600 354,700 Appendix 380,000* 380,000 *2
FSU 184,000 to 184,000 to N.A. 193,000 223,000 Appendix 220,000 220,000** M Eastern & 50,000 to 50,000 to N.A. 45,500 72,800 Appendix Central 80,000 80,000** M Europe Western 80,000 to 106,000 N.A. 96,400 96,460 Appendix Europe 100,000 i 4 USA 140,000 to 140,000 to N.A. 127,400 145,600 Appendix 160,000 160,000 f>.4
Rest of the 20,000 47,300 N.A. 43,000 43,000 Appendi4 x World f
Total 834,000 to 887,400 to 831,900 935,600 960,000 993,400 * Calculated figure 369,000; included 360,000 to 380,000 in memorandum **234,000 to 300,000 included Eastern Europe; used 1998 figures to impute 1997 estimate for FSU and Eastern Europe
The documentation of the derivation of these estimates is presented in three appendices:
Appendix 1.2 Estimates of the Number of Nazi Victims in Israel, 1997 & 2000
Appendix 1.3 Estimates of the Number of Nazi Victims in the FSU, 1997 & 2000
Appendix 1.4 Estimates of the Number of Nazi Victims in the United States, Europe and the rest of the World, 1997 & 2000
26 Appendix 1.2 Estimates of the Number of Nazi Victims in Israel, 199728
Spanic. Factor & Struminskv (July 1997);
The estimate is based on data from the Israeli Population Registry as of March 1997 for people born in 1944 or earlier and who immigrated to Israel since 1945. Ten percent of the immigrants from the FSU were believed to not be Nazi victims. In addition, only immigrants from that portion of the U.S.S.R. occupied by the Nazis were included (estimated 41.5%). From the overall number of immigrants who were bom in Poland, only 90% were included, because about 10% of them left Poland before the occupation to other countries and then emigrated to Israel. For other areas, 5% of the population were believed to have spent the war years elsewhere.
28 The Central Bureau of Statistics has recently published an estimate of Nazi victims of 230,000.(Ha'Aretz, May 2, p.3) The estimate is based on the Bureau's 1997 survey of non- institutionalized people, 60 and over in urban areas. The definition did not include flight cases or Nazi victims under 60 in 1997. This estimate may also not have included people who lived under Nazi rule outside of Europe (e.g. in North Africa).
27 Appendix Exhibit 1.21 Estimated Number of Nazi Victims, Israel, 1997 (Spanic Committee) Sub-totals Total Total # bom 1944 or earlier who emigrated to Israel since 1945 499,428
Total # emigrating from FSU since 1945 A 249,055
Excluding:
Those who were "not in danger of persecution because of race" (-10%) -24,906
Those not in areas under Nazi rule (-41%) -93,022
Total from FSU not included as Nazi victims -117,928
Total # of those emigrating from FSU since 131,127 131,127 1945 minus the excluded categories
250,373 Total # Emigrating from Other Countries B
Excluding:
Those who may have spent war years (-5%) -12,519 elsewhere (not flight)
Total # emigrating from Other Countries 237,854 237,854 since 1945 minus the excluded category
368,981 Grand Total Israeli Nazi Victims: Source: Population Registry
Revised. Factor & Struminskv (April 1998) Step 1: Population Registry Step 2: -50% of immigrants from FSU; -33% of immigrants from Poland Conclusion: 360,000 to 380,000
28 Ukeles (2000)
Since the time of the Spanic and Factor estimates, which were derived using the population registry, a new source of information about surviving Nazi victims has become available, and it is important to try to utilize this new information. In 1997, the Central Bureau of Statistics of the State of Israel undertook a comprehensive study of people 60 and over living in their own homes (not institutions) and living in urban areas. The source of the data for the study was a scientific sample of over 5,000 respondents. For the first time this study included a series of questions that enabled one to estimate the number, age, characteristics, living conditions and needs of surviving Nazi victims. Respondents were asked whether they had lived under Nazi rule between 1933 and 1945. The study found 220,000 Nazi victims living in urban areas in their own home, of whom 202,000 came from Europe, and an additional 18,000 came from outside Europe, typically North Africa.
Unfortunately, the data only covers a portion, albeit a significant portion, of the population of Nazi victims in Israel. To get a more complete picture, the estimate was built up out of four additional components:
1. An estimate of the number of Nazi victims, 60 and over, living in institutional settings (Appendix Exhibit 1.25)
2. An estimate of the number of Nazi victims, 60 and over living in rural settings (Appendix Exhibit 1.26)
3. An estimate of the number of Nazi victims under 60 (Appendix Exhibit 1.27)
4. An estimate of the number of flight cases (not included in the definition in the 1997 study) (Appendix Exhibit 1.28)
29 The summary results of this five-part estimate is presented below:
Appendix Exhibit 1.22. Summary Estimate of Number of Nazi Victims, by age, Israel, 1 1997 I Age Number Per Cent
53-59 30,400 9
60-64 53,000 16
65-69 60,400 18
70-74 75,700 22
70-74 75,700 22
75-79 58,500 17
80-89 50,800 15
o 90+ 9,100 w
Total 338,00C 100%
30 The components of this five-part analysis\,presented in Appendix 1.23 below.
Appendix Exhibit 1.23. Summary Estimate of Number of Nazi Victims by Age, Israel, 1997 60+ Institutional Rural Ages Flight Total, Nazi AGE in Urban Areas Population Population 53 to 59 Victims. Victims (ADfi'l) Number Per Cent 53 to 59 24,300 6,100 30,400 9%
60 to 64 39,300 2,900 10,900 53,100 16%
65 to 69 45,000 400 2,800 12,200 60,400 18%
70 to 74 56,600 500 3,600 15,000 75,700 22%
75 to 79 42,100 1,900 3,000 11,500 58,500 17%
80 to 89 32,800 5,400 2,400 10,200 50,800 15%
90 and over 4,300 2,500 300 2,000 L 9.100 3%
TOTAL 220,100 10,700 15,000 24,300 67,900 338,000 100%
Two adjustments are necessary to adjust the 1997 estimates for the year 2000:
1. A reduction needs to be made to reflect mortality during the period from the end of 1997 to the beginning of 2000. 2. An increase is necessary to reflect in-migration from the FSU during this period. TU ^Jc^ha^ ^""Average off mortalityYff 4.5% per year was used to reduce the 1997 estimate for the two year period - from the end of 1997 to the beginning of 2000. To reflect continuing in-migration from the FSU, 14,400 was added to both estimates. An estimated 150,000 Jews have come from the FSU during this period; of whom about 20% are 55 or older. Of these about 60% are from areas occupied by the Nazis.
Appendix Exhibit 1.24. Estimate of Nazi Victims, 2000 1997 Mori ality Immigration 2000 Estimate A (Ukeles) 338,000 (0.09) (30,400) +18,000 325,600 Estimate B (Spanic, Factor) 370,000 (0.09) (33,300) +18,000 354,700
31 Appendix Exhibit 1.25. Calculations of Estimate for Nazi Victims in Institutions 1. Jewish Population in 25,000 Institutions* 2. Population^that is 18,000 European** 3. Percent of Europeans, 75+ 60% that are Nazi Victims 4. Estimated Total, Nazi 10,800 Victims in Institutions 5. Age 65 to 74*** 0.08 900 6. Age 75tcr«4^ 0.44 4,800 7. Age 85+ 0.47 T7T00 f • fy* <* t + •ElderlyjnJsrael: Statistical Yearbook, 1999, p. 238 " JDC- Brookdale estimate
32 Appendix Exhibit 1.26. Calculation of Estimate of Nazi Victims in Rural Areas, Israel, 1997 Ages Jews Nazi Victims Percent Number 60 to 64 11,700 31% 3,569
65 to 74 18,500 32.0% 5,920
75+ 15,600 35.0% 5,460
60+ 45,800 14,949
Source: Elderly in Israel: statistical Annual, 1999, pp.33, p.19 and Study of 60 and over in community, 1997
33 Calculation of Nazi victims under 60. Israel. 1997
An analysis of the age data from the Population Registry for people who came to Israel from Europe since 1945 and were born in 1944 and earlier, reveals significant variation based on country of origin. Substantial numbers of people from the FSU and from Bulgaria and Romania are under 60. Since many of them do not self-identify as Nazi victims, the estimate of the under 60 cohort of Nazi victims for Israel is based on the other countries where virtually all who came to Israel are Nazi victims, or 9% of the total.
Appendix Exhibit 1.27. Age of European Jews, Born Before 1945 Who Arrived in Israel Since 1945, by Country of Origin, from Population Registry, 1997
Country of Origin Yr of Birth: 1937 or earlier 1938-1944 Total Age: T60+1 [53 TO 59] FSU 191,000 52,000 243,000 79% 21% 100%
Bulqaria & Rumania 97,000 18,000 115,000 84% 16% 100%
Other, Europe 120,000 12,000 132,000 91% 9% 100%
34 Calculation of Nazi victims who were flight cases. Israel. 1997
As was pointed out in Appendix 1, a flight case is someone who fled shortly before, during or immediately after the Nazi invasion of their country. This is a somewhat imprecise definition, and there may be more or fewer flight cases depending on the breadth or narrowness of the definition of this group. The earlier estimates (Spanic and Struminski) estimated about 170,000 flight cases (the difference between the narrow and broad estimate of survivors.)
Yet in the 1997 study, it appeared that people who were in Europe but did not self-identity as victims of the Shoah were most likely to come from places such as the FSU (the majority), Romania, Bulgaria or Poland. Most of these people did not flee, but stayed in place, and do not consider themselves as having lived under a Nazi regime. AI|o, the large number of people who did self-identify as Nazi victims but ditfndicate that they were in concentration camps/death camps, labor camps in ghettos or in hiding, suggests that some people who did 'S self-identity as Nazi victims were in fact flight cases. Thus the number oMiyUl tv*| eases is suiiiUWlul smallST llian might originally have been UiuuyiH 16 Bg ttte "^xaee^The estimates presented in Appendix Fyhihi^ 1 ?a hpinw^gtaii wlttT Hig Population Registry figures for these cx)untrie^nd]apply^i^ema§5s based on information about each country. Thus 40% of those registered under the FSU are not considered Nazi victims -approximately the proportion of the FSU not occupied by the Nazis. Bulgarian Jews were protected and do not self-identify as Shoah victims by and large. Only 10% of the Polish Jews are not considered victims (parallel to the Spanic Committee assumption). In the 1997 study of people over 60, a substantial portion of Israelis from Romania did not self identify as Nazi victims.
Appendix Exhibit 1.28 Estimate of Europeans, not considered Nazi victims
Population Registry Not Nazi Victims Per Cent Number FSU 210,000 40% 84,000 Vv Russia 8,000 60% 4,800
Bulgaria 16,000 100% 16,000
Rumania 100,000 50% 50.000
Poland 68,000 10% 6,800
Total 160,800
35 APPENDIX 1.3 Estimate of Nazi victims in the Former Soviet Union
Spanic. et. al. (1997)
APPENDIX Exhibit 1.31 Estimate of Nazi victims in the Former Soviet Union 5% Mortality 3% Mortality Step 1: FSU Census in 1989 , number of Jews born 800,000 800,000 before 1945 living in the FSU Step 2: From this number, subtract the estimated -275,000 -275,000 number who left the FSU 1989-1996 Step 3: Deduct an annual mortality rate of 3% to 5% -148,000 -210,000 Subtotal 315,000 377,000 Step 4: Based on a map of the Nazi occupation -131,000 -157,000 during World War II, 58.5% of the FSU Jews lived under Nazi conquest Total 184,000 220,000
Source: Estimate of Holocaust survivors currently living in the FSU is based on the work of Mr. Arkadi Zeltzer, supervised by Prof. M. Altshuler of the Center for Research and Documentation of Eastern European Jews, Hebrew University.
36 Factor & Struminski (1998) Used estimates of the WJRO and J DC Eastern Europe and FSU = 234,000 to 300,000 If apply 1997 estimates for FSU and Eastern Europe split, numbers for the FSU are the same as the 1997 estimate
Appendix Exhibit 1.32 Calculation of FSU & Europe Factor (1996I ) Spanic et. al. ('1997 )
Low High Low High
FSU & Eastern Europe 234,000 300,000
FSU 184,000 220,000
Eastern Europe 50,000 . 80,000
Western Europe 106,040 106,040 80,000 100,000
37 Ukeles (2000)
Since the 1997 and 1998 indirect estimates were done, an additional, and more direct source of information has become available. The JDC, with substantial support from the Claims Conference has developed a network of Hesed programs throughout the FSU feeding and serving a very large number of Jewish indigent elderly. In support of the management of this large and complex program, the JDC in the FSU has developed a detailed Management Information System (MIS) on all those served. One of the pieces of information in that system is whether the individual served is a victim of Nazi persecution.
A more fundamental issue has to do with the assumptions about the number of Jews in the FSU and specifically the number of older persons in the FSU.
The JDC estimates, based on observations by field staff and the judgments of local Jewish communal leaders are substantially higher than those of the ranking expert on world Jewish demography, Professor Sergio Delia Pergola of the Hebrew University. These differences are presented below in Appendix Exhibit 1.35 Professor Delia Pergola's estimates are based on extrapolations from the Soviet Census. This in turn is based on the assumption that Jews in the Soviet Union registered as a Jewish nationality. Yet it is widely believed in the FSU that many Jews did not register as Jews because of issues of employment and education discrimination. While conceding that this is likely, Prof. Delia Pergola argues that there is no alternative data source for estimating in the FSU, and therefore no way to measure the incidence of Jewish reporting under other nationalities.
38 In a recent study of the Moldavian Jewish community carried out by the JDC- Brookdale Institute, Jews were asked to identify themselves by the nationality under which they were registered. About 20% indicated that they were Jewish, but had not registered as Jews. Experts on the FSU suggest that the degree of underreporting in Moldova is probably lower than in Russia or the Ukraine. Thus using the JDC data on percentage of Nazi victims, four estimates of the number of Nazi victims were produced (see Appendix Exhibit 1.35). V • Based On Delia Pergola Estimates of number of Jews in the Soviet Union and number over 60
• Based on the JDC estimate of the number of Soviet Jews in the FSU and the number over 60
• The Delia Pergola estimate expanded to take account of an estimated 25% under reporting.
• An estimate based on 2 times the Hesed enrollment.
39 ll
in Appendix Exhibit 1.34. Alternative Estimates of the number of Jewish People in the FSU, 60 Years and over Estimate Number of Jews 60, and Jews 60 and "core" Jews, over, 1997 over, 2000 1997* 1 Delia 546,000 265,000 226,000*** Pergola**
2 J DC**** •• 466,000
3. Delia 301,000 Pergola, modified 4 Based on 2x Hesed 345,000 Caseload*****
Notes: '"Core" Jews are self-identified Jews or Jews by birth. A smaller number than the "enlarged" Jewish population which includes non-Jewish spouses and children of Jews; which in turn is smaller than the population under the Law of Return, which includes people of Jewish descent. "American Jewish Yearbook (1999); personal communication (1999) and estimate ***1997 number minus estimated out migration (15,000); and mortality (24,000) between the end of 1997 and beginning of 2000 **"JDC field staff estimates, by country and region •****JDC Management Information System data; -10% estimated non-Jewish, -5% under 60. About 50% penetration for the Hesed program is reasonable: some older people are not destitute; some people live in remote areas not reached by the Hesed program; the program is still relatively new and still growing.
40 Appendix Exhibit 1.35. Alternative Estimates of Number of Nazi victims, 55 and over, FSU, 2000 Estimates Number of Jews (60 Number of Jews (55 Number of Nazi and over) and over)* Victims (55 and over)** 1. Delia Pergola 226,000 266,000 145,800
2. JDC Staff 466,000 548,000 300,300
3. Delia Pergola 301,000 354,000 194,000 Modified
4. 2x Jewish Hesed 345,000 406,000 222,000 Enrollment
Notes: •Number of 60+/.85 ".548 of people 55 and over
41 Appendix 1.4 Estimates of the Number of Nazi Victims in the United States, Europe and the Rest of the World, 1997 & 2000
While there is a range of possible answers to the question of the number and age of surviving victims of Nazi persecution in Israel and the FSU, at least there is solid information for part of the estimate. In the case of Europe, the United States and the rest of the world, there is no new information since the Spanic and Factor estimates and one ultimately needs to rely on their estimates summarized below:
Appendix 1.4a Western Europe & Eastern Europe
Factor (1998) (Broad definition) Europe Low 156,000 High 186,000 Average 171,000 Range 15,000
Calculation of FSU & Europe (used bold numbers) Factor (1998) Spanic et. al. (1997) Low High Low High FSU & Eastern Europe 234000 300000 FSU 184,000 220,000 Eastern Europe 50,000 80,000 Western Europe 106,040 106,040 80,000 100,000
Estimation. Western Europe: (Spanic. 1997)
"The number of Holocaust survivors in Western Europe at the end of World War II was 410,000. Under the assumption that 25% to 30% are still alive, their current [1997] number is 100,000 to 120,000. Taking into account that some of these survivors have emigrated over the years, we estimate that 80,000 to 100,000 survivors are still living in Western Europe."
42 Estimation. Western Europe: (Factor. 1998) (Broad definition)
Holocaust Survivors Russian Jews Austria 2,250 Belgium 4,190 Britain 3,000 Denmark 1,620 France 65,000 Germany 13,000 6,500 Greece 2,000 Italy 6,770 Luxembourg 410 Netherlands 6,450 Norway 150 Sweden 800 Switzerland 400 TOTAL 106,040 "Assumed 50% of Russian Jews under occupation
The 1998 Factor estimate probably includes an over-estimate for France and Germany and an under-estimate for Great Britain, although the total for Western Europe appears reasonable. The 2000 estimates for Eastern & Central Europe and for Western Europe appearing in the text adjust the 1998 totals for two years mortality.
Appendix 1.4b United States (Glicksman in Soanic et al (1997) and Factor & Struminski (1998)
Estimation:
Low 140,000 High 160,000 Average 150,000 Range 20,000
Methods:
Using historical records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, along with other historical records, Glicksman
43 estimated that:
33,000 Jews arrived as refugees from 1933-1937 124,000 Jews arrived as refugees from 1938-1941 119,373 Jews arrived as Displaced Persons after the War 24,090 Jews arrived in the 1950's and 1960's who were survivors 49,416 Jews from the FSU living in the United States are survivors
This gives a grand total of 349,879 survivors who entered the United States between 1933-1995.
Using life tables and estimates of their age on arrival, he estimated that around 150,000 (+/-10,000) are still alive, with about 25% of those survivors being Soviet born.
44 Appendix 1.4c Estimates, Methods, Sources, and Associated Definitions for the Number of Surviving Jewish Victims of Nazi Persecution in the Rest of the World
Estimation (Factor. 1998): (Broad or Narrow Definition)
Country Holocaust Survivors Latin America 3,625 Argentina 2,000 Bolivia 30 Brazil 850 Chile 100 Ecuador 30 Guatemala 10 Mexico 70 Paraguay 15 Peru 20 Uruguay 200 Venezuela 300
Other Countries 43,700 Australia 21,500 Canada 21,500 South Africa 700
Assumptions:
Canada and Australia: Assumed 2,500 Jews from the FSU and 2,500 from Poland in each country.
Latin America and South Africa: Estimated that if Holocaust survivors from the FSU or Poland live there, their number is negligible.
45 Appendix 1.5 Economic Duress
As in the case of other characteristics, there is relatively little data on the economic circumstances of Nazi victims. In three countries there is some data: Israel, the FSU, and a little bit of suggestive information on the USA.
Appendix Exhibit 1.51 Economic Duress, Nazi Victims in Israel In Israel Nazi Victims Older Poor Persons* 20% 65,000 Near-Poor** 43% 140,000 Other 37% 121,000 Total 100% 326,000 Notes: *Women 60 and over; men 65 and over with incomes less than 1/2 of the median income in Israel latter transfer payments I |**Women 60 and over; men 65 and over with incomes less than 1/2 of the median income in Israel pefore transfer payments but not after transfer payments I
Appendix Exhibit 1.52 Economic Duress of Nazi Victims in the FSU
Age 55 & Percent Non- Survivors Over Survivors (a) survivors 354,000 54.8% 194,000 160,000
FSU JDC Jewish Clients 181,400 99,400 82,000 + poor not served by Hesed Program(b) 36,300 19,900 16,400 Total, Poor 217,700 119,300 98,400 Near-Poor 71,900 39,400 32,500 Middle & Upper Income (c) 64,500 35,300 29,100
Notes (a) Percentage of survivors based on Hesed survey (b)Estimated percent of older persons not being reached by Hesed program — people in isolated areas; some people don't know about a relatively new program; relatively low penetration in Eastern Republics. 20.3%
46 Appendix Exhibit 1.53 Economic Duress, Nazi Victims in the USA Philadelphia US Survivors Poor HH over 65 2,900 13.2% 16,700 Near Poor & Poor 8700 From FSU 2000 Not from FSU 6700
Near Poor 5800 16.6% 21,000
Total Households 22,000 over 65(who answered Income question) Other 70.2% 89,300 Total 100% 127,000
Appendix Exhibit 1.54 Economic Duress in Europe And the Rest of the World I
FSU Based on Based on FSU Adjusted Eastern Europe FSU Poor 61.5% 28,286 -25% 21,215 Near-Poor 20.3% 9,338 40% 13,073 Other 18.2% 8,372 40% 11,721 Total 100.0% 46,000 46,009
Israel Based on Western Europe Israel Poor 20.0% 19200 Near-Poor 43.0% 41280 Other 37.0% 35520 Total 100.0% 96000
Total, Europe Poor 40,415 28.5% Near-Poor 54,353 38.3% Other 47,241 33.3% Total 142,009 100.0%
USA W. Europe |Av„ US &W. Europe | Rest of the World Poor 13.1% 5,633 12,237 8,935 Near-Poor 16.6% 7,138 16,458 11,798 Other 70.3% 30,229 14,304 22,267 Total 100.0% 43,000 43,000 43,000
47
Appendix Two Projection of the Population of Victims of Nazi Persecution, 2000 - 2040
A critical issue in planning for the Claims Conference is the size and age of the population of Nazi victims in the world over the coming decades.
There is no question that Nazi victims are growing older, and their ranks are thinning each year. Yet, as there is no hard information about their number in the world, it is not surprising that there is no published forecast of the size of the worldwide population of Nazi victims into the future. There is one published forecast for the Israeli population of Nazi victims, completed before the 1990's Aliyah to Israel from the FSU.29
An estimate of the future population of Nazi victims, 55 and over, is summarized in Exhibit 1.30 On average, the population of Nazi victims is expected to decline by 4% to 5% per year over the next five years; 5% to 6% from 2005 through 2009; and from 6% to 8% per year from 2010 through 2014. This estimate is based on the age distribution presented in Appendix One, and the average life expectancy tables for whites in the United States.31 No effort was made to adjust for the relatively lower life expectancy in the FSU, for two reasons. First, there are no life tables for Jewish persons. Second, it is prudent to be conservative in estimating survival rates when planning services. In general, actual life expectancy tends to exceed projections.
The most striking finding from this projection is that the population of Nazi victims is declining more slowly than many had believed, and that as a consequence there are likely to be substantial numbers of surviving victims for at least another 20 years. Even 30 and 35 years from now, there are likely to be tens of thousands of Nazi victims alive. One of the reasons for this relatively slower decline in the size of the population is the finding that, using the broad definition, there are many more relatively younger Nazi victims than previously believed.
29 Factor (1994)
30 See Appendix 3.1 for the detailed year-by-year forecast, and the associated actuarial assumptions.
31 Life expectancy tables for Jews in Israel are similar to life expectancy tables for whites in the United States, with some small differences by gender.
48 If the projection of the population of Nazi victims is limited to those presently 65 or over - those most likely to be in need in the coming years - there are likely to be substantial numbers of surviving victims for at least another 15 years (Exhibit 2). On average, the population of Nazi victims currently over 65 is expected to decline by 5% to 6% per year over the next five years; 6% to 8% from 2005 through 2009; and from 8% to 10% per year from 2010 through 2014.
49 Exhibit 1. Projection of World-wide Population of Nazi Victims, Age, 55 and over, 2000 - 2040
Year Age 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040
Under 65 208,000 76,000 — - - — - — -
— 65 to 74 333,000 255,000 161,000 61,000 - - - -
75 to 84 216,000 254,000 220,000 165,000 112,000 37,000 - — -
85 & 75,000 76,000 97,000 109,000 94,000 74,000 50,000 4,000 Over 'i000
Total 832,000 657,000 489,000 335,000 206,000 111,000 50,000 000 4,000
% 75 and 35% 50% 65% 82% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Over
50 Exhibit 2. Projection of World-wide Population of Nazi Victims, Age, 65 and over, 2000 - 2030 Year Age 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030*
65 to 74 333,000 133,000 — ' — — — —
75 to 84 216,000 254,000 220,000 81,000 —
85 &Over 75,000 76,000 97,000 109,000 94,000 36,000 9,000
Total 624,000 464,000 317,000 190,000 94,000 36,000 9,000
» % 75 and 47% 71% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Over
i 51 Appendix Three Projection of Successor Organization Revenue
The current source of revenue for the Claims Conference acting as successor organization is the sale of Jewish communal and unclaimed property in the former East Germany. These sales have been underway since 1992, and it is anticipated that the remaining sales will be completed within three to five years.
While it is possible that additional resources will be available to the Claims Conference in the future from other settlements which are not yet concluded, it is impossible to predict whether such additional resources will be forthcoming, when they might materialize and with what order of magnitude. For the purposes en this planning process, it is recommended that the focus be on the known source of revenue.
Even in the case of property sales in the former East Germany, there are substantial uncertainties: overall economic conditions in Germany; the real estate market in general; the specific demand for the types of property being sold; exchange rates, etc. Thus these estimates are subject to significant fluctuation. With these uncertainties in mind, a working figure for allocation is about $400,000,000. The calculation is presented below in Exhibit 1.
52 Exhibit 1. Projected Claims Conference Successor Organization Revenue
Sales Proceeds Revenue
1992-1997 375,000,000 DM
1998 205,000,000 DM
1999 (estimated) 350,000,000 DM
2000 (projected) 305,000,000 DM
2001 (projected) 265,000,000 DM
2002-2003 175,000,000 DM (projected)
Subtotal, Estimated Sales Proceeds 1,675,000,000 DM (projected)
Allocated to Date -575,000,000 DM
Goodwill Fund Payments -295,000,000 DM (projected)
Available in DM 805,000,000 DM (projected)
Available in Dollars (approximate) $400,000,000
53 Appendix Four Needs For Successor Organization Funds
Introduction
This Appendix begins the process of assembling what is known about the nature and extent of needs for Claims Conference successor organization funds.
The very concept of "needs" is defined by a series of assumptions about the appropriate scope of Claims Conference activity, and judgments about the relative importance of different services and geographic areas.
This is an initial description of a picture of Jewish communal needs potentially relevant to the use of Claims Conference successor organization resources. The Claims Conference establishes not only that a need exists, but that the need is one where these dollars can make a significant difference, and where there is a rationale for Claims Conference participation based on approved allocation principles and criteria.
In almost every area of need identified in this report, there are current or potential funding partners - in some cases the Government and people of Israel, and in some instances, international Jewish organizations, in some instances local philanthropic resources or resources of the general community. The issue of needs cannot be separated from the issue of other resources.
There are two relevant dimensions to the question of need: the category or type of need and geographic areas.
Categories of Need and Geographic Areas
For the purposes of collection and analysis of information about needs, six types of need and five geographic areas are defined:
Categories of Need
I. Social welfare services for Nazi victims in need II. Documentation, Education and Research
A. Documentation of, and research about, the Shoah B. Education about the Shoah in the Jewish community C. Education about the Shoah in the general community32
32 Could include tolerance programs - reduction of prejudice and racism in memory of the victims of the Shoah.
54 i'
D. Jewish education and cultural programs to insure Jewish survival
III. Special Needs: Support for Righteous Gentiles
Geographic Areas • Israel • Former Soviet Union (FSU) • Eastern and Western Europe • United States • Rest of the World
Of the six categories, five have been funded to date, and the other has been suggested by members of the Planning Committee. Exhibit 1 summarizes the allocations by the five funded categories and five geographic areas, over the past five years.
The largest single allocation has been for social welfare for Nazi victims in Israel - more than 40% of the total funds allocated. The second largest allocation has been about 30% of the total for social welfare for Nazi victims in the FSU.
Other large allocations have been for:
• Documentation of, and research about, the Shoah in Israel - about 11% of the total • Social Welfare for Nazi Victims in the USA - about 6% of the total • Social Welfare for Nazi Victims in Eastern and Western Europe - about 4% of the total
Less than 3% has been allocated directly for education related to the Shoah world-wide - although some of the capital funds allocated to major institutions for documentation and research has also enabled them to provide space for educational purposes.
55 Exhibit 1. Allocation of Claims Conference Successor Organization resources, 1995-1999 Israel FSU Eastern & United States Rest of the Total Western World Europe Social Welfare for Nazi Victims $132,000,000 $92,600,000 $13,700,000 $20,300,000 $2,200,000 $260,600,000
Documentation of, and Research about, the $36,000,000 $500,000 $3,200,000 $9,000,000 $200,000 $48,700,000 Shoah
Education about the Shoah in the $6,000,000 $0 $0 $400,000 $0 $6,500,000 Jewish Community Education about the Shoah in the $300,000 * $300,000 $1,000,000 $200,000 $1,900,000 General community Support for Righteous NA NA NA NA NA $1,300,000 Gentiles
Total $174,000,000 $93,100,000 $17,300,000 $30,700,000 $2,600,000 $319,100,00*0•
Notes: Rounded to the nearest $100,000 Totals may not equal the sum of row or column entries because of rounding *Less than $100,000 "The Board of the Claims Conference has authorized an additional $35,300,000 in spending beyond what appears in Exhibit 1.
56 Social Welfare Needs
The Target Population
The social welfare needs of Nazi victims are at least as heterogeneous as any other group of individuals in their mid 50's and over. People vary by age, health, economic circumstances, family situation, and the nature of their experience during the Shoah.
There is substantial research and abundant anecdotal evidence that the social welfare needs of Nazi victims are shaped by the interaction of old age and old wounds - emotional, physical and spiritual. In general, Nazi victims have needs that might be specifically related to the Shoah-related trauma and experiences and also needs related to the aging process itself. These two dimensions of need are often hard to distinguish. In many instances, economic stress, and the absence of a spouse or of adult children (who typically are the major care-givers for older persons) make the needs substantially greater.
• "The daily activity of work helped Nazi victims ward off nightmares and thoughts of the past... Upon retirement, however, Nazi victims must suddenly confront thoughts and memories they had repressed through constant activity during their younger years."33
• "At a developmental stage wherein one's long-term memories become stronger and one's short-term memories become weaker, repressed experiences from the past may be reactivated in extremely frightening and vivid imagery."34
• Retirement and aging often intensify the survivor syndrome "characterized by depression and chronic anxiety, sleep disturbances, problems with intellectual functioning, physiological changes as a result of chronic tension and survivor guilt."35
A study of non-institutionalized individuals, ages 60+, is currently underway by the JDC-Brookdale Institute.36 Preliminary data from this study, reported below, enables the comparison of the characteristics of Nazi victims with the characteristics of their peers. While the study was conducted in Israel, it is the only such comprehensive study that allows for comparisons between Nazi victims and others, and as such may be relevant to the world-wide situation.
34 Brodsky-Cohen, 1991, p. 227 35 Niederland,1961, and Krystal and Niederland,1968, cited in Brodsky-Cohen, 1991, p.228. 36 The data on Israel is the only statistically reliable data about the characteristics of Nazi victims because the 1997 survey included questions of the population 60 and over in Israel about their location during the Shoah.
57 For the purposes of analysis, the Jewish, urban, non-institutionalized, 60+ population is broken down into five categories:
Exhibit 2. Non-institutionalized Jewish Persons 60 and Over, Living in Urban Areas in Israel, 1997, by their location between1933 and 1945
Under Nazi rule, in 202,500 29% Europe
Under Nazi Rule, not in 17,600 3% Europe (typically North Africa)
Not under Nazi Rule, in 145,900 21% Europe
Not under Nazi Rule, Not 192,000 28% in Europe
Came to Israel before 129,100 19% 1933 or Born in Israel
Total* 687,100 100%
Note: *1.6% percent of survey respondents did not answer this question, and thus about 9,300 Jewish people 60 and over are not included in this total.
There is no question that Nazi victims (in Israel as elsewhere) have suffered extensively from the physical, psychological, and social traumas of the Shoah, and that these traumas are exacerbated by advancing age. Yet many in this group have passed away; the frailest are likely to be in institutional care. Thus, it is not surprising that the remainder, who are living on their own in the community do not appear in significantly greater need than other Israelis who came to Israel after 1933 and are now 60+. The following discussion identifies two dimensions of the needs of Israeli Nazi victims: areas of need that are greater among Nazi victims (relatively few) and areas of need that may be shared by others, but are also characteristics of Nazi victims.
Some differences between Nazi victims and others:
Nazi victims are older than other Israeli elderly: Only 38% of the Nazi victims surveyed are under 70 compared with 51% of those who came to Israel after 1933 and do not self identify as Nazi victims.37
37 The latter group could include flight victims who fled before or during the occupation of their country by the Nazis.
58 Loss of Educational Opportunities: Many surviving Nazi victims lost their opportunity for formal education. Only 26% of the Nazi victims have 13 or more years of education compared with 42% among non-Nazi victims over 60.
Back Problems: The percentages of Nazi victims reporting a slipped disk in their back is higher than that of Europeans who are not Nazi victims (20% vs. 12%).
Osteoporosis: Nazi victims also are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis (20% vs. 11%).
Sleep Disturbances: Common among older people in general, and are particularly high among Nazi victims compared with Europeans who are not Nazi victims - 46% of Nazi victims report not sleeping because of worries compared with 41% of Europeans who are not Nazi victims.
In the following areas, problems were identified but no apparent differences were found between Shoah victims and the general Israeli elderly population:
Family Status: One of the consequences of aging is loss of relatives, and particularly among Nazi victims, widowhood. One out of five men are not currently married and over half of the women. Thirty-seven percent of the female Nazi victims surveyed live alone and 13% of the men.
Ties with Children and Friends: Eighty-six percent of the Nazi victims have children that they meet with at least once a month. The balance (14%) do not have children or do have children but do not see them at least once a month. Of those who live alone, 20% have no children or see them less than once a month. 33% have no friends or meet their friends less than once a month. The survey found that an estimated 3,300 Nazi victims are living in isolation - they have no children or friends or meet with them less than once a month.
Feelings of Loneliness. Depression, and Insomnia: Thirty-seven percent of respondents who were surviving Nazi victims reported feeling lonely - about 18% said they felt so often. More than one in ten reported feeling depressed during the last six months.
Utilization of Mental Health Services: Despite high levels of insomnia, feeling lonely and depression, relatively few Nazi victims use mental health services; only 2% visited a mental health clinic during the past six months; 3% visited a psychiatrist and 13% were in contact with a social worker during the past year.
Health: Among the more common health problems reported by respondents are arthritis and rheumatism (54%), back, neck and shoulder problems(60%), hypertension (54%); respiratory problems (23%) cardiac problems (21%) and osteoporosis (20%). Falls: One of the most common risks to quality of life, especially among the elderly, is falls. Some 18% of the Nazi victims sun/eyed in Israel reported having fallen in the last six months on the stairs, in the street or at home; and Vz of those who fell required medical attention. In the U.S., according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, one out of three people over 65 falls every year and 60% of fatal falls in this age group occur in the home. Fractures - especially hip fractures - in the elderly have been found to have serious health consequences (often associated with increased nursing home placement) and 87% of fractures are caused by falls among people 65 and older.
The Social Welfare Needs of Nazi Victims38 39
1. Outreach to Nazi victims Before Nazi victims can access the available services, they first need to be aware of the services. Different strategies should be employed to make sure that this information is disseminated, via the appropriate channels, in communities where Nazi victims reside. Establishing an advisory committee, comprised of Nazi victims, which is affiliated with the social service agency providing the services appears to increase awareness. Social sen/ice agencies should also attempt to reduce (and hopefully, eliminate) service barriers, such as lack of social workers who speak the language spoken by the local Nazi victim population (i.e. Yiddish or Russian). However, barriers to service utilization were reported even among Nazi victims who are aware of the available services. According to those interviewed, many Nazi victims experience emotional resistance to accepting services. This might be due to the Nazi victims' reluctance to admit their neediness and dependency, their reluctance to spend their own money (which they had hoped to bequeath to the next generation), or alternatively, to their reluctance to disclose information - especially financial information - to an organization (see #9 in this section).
2. Case Management Case management is an essential component of social service provision. Case management consists of an on-going involvement between a social service worker and a client. It begins with a comprehensive assessment of the client's environmental, health, financial, social, and physical situation.
In more advanced societies, comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Diagnostic Centers go beyond the resources of a typical social service
MMuch of this information is based on interviews with approximately 20 social service professionals employed by agencies who provide Claims Conference funded services to Nazi victims in the United States. 39 This section focuses on service needs; capital needs are discussed in relation to Israel, where the Claims Conference has had a policy of investing in the capital infrastructure of the Jewish state.
60 agency. These interdisciplinary assessment centers bring to bear medical and psychological diagnosis, and involve extensive interaction with the family as well as the older person themselves. Particularly under crisis situations - e.g. a health episode or with cognitive impairment, families are often at a loss as to how to best proceed with care decisions.
Based on the evaluation, a care plan is formulated, implemented and monitored. The continual monitoring is especially important given the potential complexity of aging Nazi victims' physical and emotional needs. The service mix received by the client often has to be changed or modified to respond to changing needs and circumstances. Effective case managers are knowledgeable about the range of available services and benefits along with the criteria which are used to determine eligibility for these services. They can thus play a critical advocacy role to access needed services for their clients. Social service staff who provide case management can also provide other useful services that are often needed by the elderly in general and by Nazi victims in particular, such as financial management.
Home Care The ultimate purpose of these services is to enable older people to remain independent in their own homes, for as long as possible, i.e. to delay/avoid institutionalization. Even in areas where home care is funded by the government, the Jewish community, or the Claims Conference, professionals in the field report that the number of hours are often not sufficient given the level of frailty of their clients. In recognition of the strong preference manifested by older people to remain in their own homes, rather than be placed in institutions, such as nursing homes, the Claims Conference has been earmarking substantial grants for the allocation of home care services. Expanded home care services has been found to improve the quality of life of disabled older persons, as well as that of family caregivers. Some studies also reported significant improvements in the health and functioning of older persons. (Kemper, Applebaum, Harrigan,1987).
A. Personal Care Personal care services help people who experience difficulty with some of the basic Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) - for example, bathing, toileting, meals, transferring in and out of bed.)
B. Housekeeping Services Housekeeping services help people who have difficulty with tasks related to maintaining their own home or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (lADL's) - for example, food preparation, house cleaning, managing medication. This category of service typically includes people who are less
61 frail than the group requiring assistance with ADL's described above and who have some higher order needs.
4. Dental Care Malnutrition during the war-time years has resulted in severe dental problems for many Nazi victims - particularly those who survived the war as children. Unfortunately, in many areas, publicly funded dental care only covers some needs - for example, dentures but not procedures, such as root canal therapy, that are needed in order for people to retain their own teeth; in some instances the reverse is true - the medical procedure is covered but not the dentures.
5. Prescription Drugs and Supplementary Medical Insurance A major unmet need identified was for supplementary medical insurance (which goes beyond the limited benefits provided by basic insurance coverage) to pay for higher quality medical care as well as for prescription drugs.
6. Food Programs To varying degrees in different places, there are destitute elderly people, many Nazi victims in or from the FSU. In some cases, elderly parents were accompanied by adult children, who have since moved to another country or place. Their parents remain behind, without adequate economic or familial support. A number of volunteer feeding programs have been established, which serve hundreds of meals at very low unit costs.
7. Transportation and Transportation Companions Funding is sometimes available, in the form of vouchers, to bring Nazi victims to their doctors' appointments. However, many Nazi victims especially those living in high crime areas, are afraid of venturing out alone. Funding is needed to hire companions, a few hours at a time, to bring the elderly Nazi victims to their appointments, to go shopping with them and to take them to social events (e.g. to the coffee houses, such as Cafe Europa, community centers, senior centers, or day care programs such as those funded by the Claims Conference).
8. Socialization Experiences For aging Nazi victims, the isolation that often accompanies old age is compounded by the social isolation that they feel living among people who do not share their background. As Nazi victims become increasingly frail it is important to seek to maximize the socialization potential in all delivered services. For example, home care - which is an inherently isolating service - can perhaps be supplemented by a visit to a senior center or day care center. 9. Training for Staff Providing Services to Nazi victims
62 Social service staff who interact with Nazi victims at home and in institutions would greatly benefit from training regarding the specific needs and emotional issues that often emerge among elderly Nazi victims. The focus of the training should be on how to develop a trusting relationship with Nazi victims and how to address the fears which often emerge among Nazi victims as they age. These tendencies are often exacerbated by contact with bureaucracies such as social service agencies. Home care workers and care workers in institutions should be trained in how to interact with the individual who is receiving personal services (e.g. meals, baths).
10. Counseling /Supportive Therapy for Nazi victims Elderly Nazi victims can be expected to manifest the typical array of socio- emotional problems associated with aging with an overlay of Shoah related experiences, which are often relived during old age. Short-term counseling as well as on-going contact with a mental health professional are often necessary to maintain the highest possible quality of life for this population. Nazi victims who are alone and homebound are often in need of more regular visits from social workers. In one agency in the U.S. with an extensive caseload of Nazi victims, the average client receives only 1 1/2 hours or less of such services per month.
11. Home Alterations/Redesign for Injury Prevention Although the Claims Conference is currently funding some programs aimed at enhancing home safety, given the importance of this issue, additional funding is required. Furthermore, many of the suggested alterations are not very costly. As pointed out above, falls and other injuries in the home are frequent, with serious consequences for older people. Many in-home injuries can be eliminated or severely reduced by eliminating barriers, providing additional supports (i.e. grab-bars and handrails) and by installing improved lighting.
12. Medical Eouioment Older people need a variety of specialized medical equipment which can mean the difference between self-sufficiency and dependence, between comfort and misery. Support for programs which lend medical equipment to Nazi victims or support which subsidizes rentals or "contributions" can be very helpful.
13. Subsidized Rent for Housing Elderly Nazi victims (as well as many elderly in the general population) often have difficulties making ends meet. Paying the rent can be a particular challenge. For this reason, providing seniors with rental assistance would be a useful benefit.
63 Resources to Meet Needs To address needs, there are five levels of potential support:
• First and foremost, informal care provided by family members - typically adult children (most often daughters and daughter-in-laws) and spouses - and to a lesser extent, by neighbors • Second, personal resources to pay for privately funded services (in countries where such services exist). • Third, the "safety net" in the general community - where it exists • Fourth, the "safety net" in the Jewish community • Fifth, specific programs or funds for Nazi victims, typically funded by the Claims Conference The substantial difference in the Jewish and general communal safety net in different parts of the world, and the difference in the scale of need because of the variations in the numbers of Nazi victims in different places, does make it imperative to look separately at needs in different parts of the world. There are four large concentrations of Nazi victims that between them account for the vast majority of the Nazi victims in the world: Israel, the FSU, Western and Eastern Europe and the United States.
Israel As presented in Appendix One, the largest number of Nazi victims of any region or country in the world live in Israel. The rescue and resettlement of Nazi victims of the Shoah has been a centerpiece of Israeli society from before the State. Nazi victims constitute a significant proportion of the older Jewish persons in the Israel - 38% of the people over 55 years old; 52% of those over 75. Although Israel's population of older persons is growing rapidly, as a percentage of the total Jewish population it is still relatively small - with only 5% of the Jewish population over 75 in 1999. Because so large a proportion of older persons in Israel are Nazi victims, the picture of needs for current services and unmet needs of Nazi victims is inextricably bound up with the overall patterns of service to older persons in Israel.
Current Services and Unmet Needs As in other countries, the vast majority of persons aged 65, 70 and even 75 are essentially self-sufficient. When problems do occur, the first line of defense is the family, especially adult children and their spouses. Beyond that, Israel is committed to constructing a strong safety net.
Communitv-Based Care Health insurance covers the basic costs of health coverage for the vast majority of Israeli citizens, Nazi victims included. While Israel is a welfare state with a growing economy, it is still not a rich society. There are gaps in the health care
64 system that affect significant numbers of Nazi victims, such as the inability to be reimbursed by health insurance for needed equipment such as eyeglasses or hearing aids.
In response to this problem, the Claims Conference has supported the Foundation for the Benefit of Shoah Victims in Israel. The Foundation makes modest grants for the purchase of health-related equipment: dental care, eye glasses, hearing aides, orthopedic devices, medical supplies, mental treatment and distress alarms. Between its inception in 1994 and 1997, the Foundation distributed over $7,000,000 in 8,700 grants. Over 90% of the grants were for dental care. In order to be eligible for assistance from the Foundation, an individual who is a Nazi victim must have an annual income which does not to exceed 4,200 NIS per month. The poverty line for the same time period was 1,349 NIS per month for an individual and 2,024 NIS per month for a couple (1997 data). Thus the program is aimed at the poor, as well as the near-poor and lower-income people. Since 1997, over 40,000 Nazi victims have received individual grants.
In the study of people 60 and over living in urban areas in Israel, over one-fourth of the Nazi victims reported having vision problems (even when wearing their glasses), and one-fourth reported having hearing problems. Few used hearing aids (around 5%). About one-fourth of those with dentures (the large majority) and about one-fifth of those without dentures reported having problems chewing.
Home Care In 1986, the Knesset passed a law creating a community long-term insurance program administered by the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi). One of the central benefits of the new legislation is personal care in the home. Eligibility is determined by the level of functional disability. Only elderly disabled living in the community are eligible. The program's income-base is sufficiently high to allow almost universal eligibility. It is estimated that 80% of the eligible population is being served. The current program has two levels: the lower level (defined as the 100% benefit level) provides 10 hours of care a week - typically associated with the need for assistance in 1 or 2 activities of daily living (ADL's). The higher level, typically associated with the need for help with 3+ ADL's (defined as the 150% benefit level) provides 15 hours a week. There is proposed legislation in the Knesset which would define three levels of care: 6 hours; 12 hours and 18 hours a week.
The Claims Conference has made a major commitment in the area of home care. The Conference funds the Foundation for the Benefit of Shoah Victims in Israel to provide 10 hours a week of additional home care for 3,500 Nazi victims who are in the highest category of need to supplement the 15 hours a week that they are receiving from Bituach Leumi. In 2000, this represents a Claims Conference commitment of $12 million. As these people are the most severely disabled, it is possible that 25 hours per week is insufficient to meet their needs - although it is substantially more than similarly situated non-Nazi victims are receiving.
In the study of people 60 and over in urban areas in Israel: • Seven per cent of all Nazi victims require the help of another person with an Activity of Daily Living (ADL), that is, personal care activity, such as washing, dressing, or eating. The percentage rises to 22% for those 80 or older.
• Fourteen percent of the Nazi victims indicated they were unable to walk around outside their home or needed the help of someone else to do so.
• Twenty-eight percent require help in at least one Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) such as cooking, cleaning. The percentage rises to 80% for those 80 or older.
• Most Nazi victims interviewed for the study who require assistance in order to be able to function receive some assistance either from family, friends or from a paid caregiver.
• Thirteen percent of the Nazi victims have a paid caregiver. In 90% of the cases, some agency pays at least part of the cost of the caregiver; typically the National insurance Institute under the Long-term Care Law.
• Despite this assistance, many Nazi victims have unmet needs in household chores and personal care, and require additional assistance. Over half of those limited in at least one IADL report the need for more assistance, and 40% of those limited in their ability to perform personal care activities (ADL's) reported having unmet needs in this area.
• Many of those most in need are recent elderly immigrants from the FSU.
Senior Centers Israel has developed an extensive network of senior centers. At the end of 1997, there were 137 centers in the Jewish sector with over 10,000 participants, of whom about 3,500 were estimated to be Nazi victims. The Claims Conference has participated in the establishment of 68 of these Centers (50%); the aggregate Claims Conference investment constituted about 20% of the total cost of the 68 projects. It is estimated that these 68 centers serve about 2,500 Nazi victims.40
Social Clubs and Dav-care Center Utilization There are also about 800 social clubs in the Jewish sector serving over 80,000
40 Elderly in Israel: The Statistical Yearbook. 1999, pp 217- 223.
66 people, albeit with a much less developed program than the senior day care centers. An estimated 35% of these are Nazi victims or about 30,000 Nazi victims participate in social clubs.
Thus it appears that about 34,000 Nazi victims over 60 are participating in these two programs, in the study of people 60 and over living in urban areas in Israel, only 15% of the Nazi victims interviewed reported visiting a social club or day care center. Another 22% said they would like to. A particularly large percentage of those who have no children or friends, and who see them infrequently, said they were interested in visiting a club or day-care center, but were unable to do so. The survey did not indicate the nature of the roadblock to their participation.
Nursing Homes. Since 1990, a national plan to add 3,000 nursing home beds and to upgrade another 800 beds has effectively been accomplished. There are now nearly 15,000 nursing home beds meeting established standards. The Claims Conference has been a full participant in the planning, funding and implementation of this program. In the projects with Claims Conference financial participation, at least 50% of the residents are Nazi victims. This program has had a significant impact on the unmet needs for institutional care.
In the study of people 60 and over living in urban areas in Israel, less than 1.5% reported that they are on a waiting list for a nursing home bed^ * Fart of this effort involved the development of kibbutz nursing homes. The Claims Conference has financed 25% of the cost of construction, with the kibbutzim funding the remaining 75%. Currently 78 kibbutzim have benefited from this program.
"Sheltered" or Semi-independent Housing. In the past two years, the Claims Conference has played a significant role in the development of sheltered housing with the collaboration of Amigour, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and the Weinberg Foundation. The Claims Conference has allocated $19,000,000 to develop this housing and 100 units have just been completed; another 400 are in the pipeline. In projects with Claims Conference funding, 100% of the units are for Nazi victims. In the study of people 60 and over living in urban areas in Israel, only 4% of the Nazi victims interviewed are on a waiting list for sheltered housing but in absolute terms, the numbers on waiting lists for sheltered housing are not insignificant - almost 7,500 persons. While the new program will have an impact on this need, it will not meet the total needs for sheltered housing.
These last two findings are consistent with projections prepared by the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. The investment in nursing beds seems to have made a major dent in the need. Projections of needs for
67 nursing beds to the year 2005 show only a 7% shortfall in needs in beds for frail elderly and a 9% shortfall in beds for the severely disabled or mentally impaired. On the other hand, there is a significant projected shortfall (39%) in the needs for sheltered or semi-independent housing (housing + supportive services).
Other Facilities. The Claims Conference has allocated funds toward the establishment of four buildings in psychiatric hospitals and three hostels with 100 beds each - a total of 300 beds. All of these projects were built exclusively for Nazi victims. The total Claims Conference contribution to these projects amounts to $10,000,000.
Other Areas of Need
• Hospitalization With increased age and frailty, comes increases in the frequency and seriousness of hospitalization. There are two programmatic responses that the Claims Conference might consider participating in:
o Post-hospitalization Care Program. For many people, post- hospital care is problematic - expensive, hard to find and hard to organize, particularly if there are no adult children and/or limited economic means. Kupat Holim Clalit in Jerusalem has developed an effective, still experimental model which could be replicated and extended to other places.
o Hospital Day Care. Particularly following cardiac vascular surgery, patients need a level of care that is not available in a day center and may not be efficient to deliver at home - such as physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. Such facilities are best operated in conjunction with a hospital and/or geriatric center.
• Food Programs There appears to be an increasing number of destitute elderly people, many Nazi victims from the FSU. In some cases, olim brought their elderly parents and the younger generation emigrates (e.g. to Germany). Their parents remain in Israel without adequate economic or familial support. A number of volunteer feeding programs have been established which serve hundreds of meals at very low unit costs. The Claims Conference has assisted in the establishment of free kitchens in the past. It might therefore consider implementing a matching program at this time to support operations.
Supportive Neighborhoods
68 The most cost-effective program for helping people to stay in their own homes as long as possible is called "Supportive Neighborhoods." It is operating today in 26 locations throughout Israel, including areas where many Nazi victims live. Each neighborhood is directed by a "neighborhood father/mother" who receives a free apartment and modest salary. The "father" or "mother" operates a 24 hour Emergency Call System to which all participants are connected. The call system is connected to an emergency medical service. Each neighborhood has a social club, and a social worker. Public and private spaces are "retrofitted" - better lighting; ramps instead of stairs, railings, etc. There is a strong volunteer component. A typical program serves 150 to 200 households within a one- kilometer radius. The program was developed by ESHEL, and is being replicated throughout the country. For relatively few dollars, the Claims Conference could focus its resources in neighborhoods where the percentage of older people who are Nazi victims exceeds the national average.
The Claims Conference has made a major contribution to the funding of the physical infrastructure for serving older people in Israel. Not only do these investments help Nazi victims, but over the long term they make a significant contribution to building the State of Israel.
While there are still some important capital needs, over the next several years, the Claims Conference might want to shift the funding balance towards services and grants to improve the quality of life for the neediest and oldest Nazi victims and away from bricks and mortar. There are four reasons for this:
• Some of the most critical building tasks are completed or nearing completion; • There are pressing ongoing service needs; • Especially if an endowment program or self-liquidating fund is established, there may not be the available resources to build buildings; • Much of the capital construction to meet social and cultural needs in Israel is funded by wealthy individuals from around the world and increasingly from Israel itself. Considering in particular that there are many wealthy individuals who are themselves Nazi victims, it might make sense to appeal to these individuals to direct some of their philanthropic resources to complete the physical infrastructure needed for their less fortunate brothers and sisters.
The FSU Characteristics of the Nazi Victims The Shoah has had an impact on the vast majority of older Jews in the FSU. Belarus, Ukraine, Moldavia, the Baltics, and part of Russia were under Nazi rule. Many elderly Jewish residents of the largest communities in Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Volga area are former residents of the Ukraine or Belarus who emigrated to Russia after the war. Many are people who fled east and returned either to their native provinces or to Russia. Some remained in the eastern republics.
Having lived through difficult times they have been impoverished by the inflation and economic turmoil accompanying the transition from Communism to a free market system. Under Communism, pension receipts were modest but reliable. Even prior to the ruble crisis of 1998, average pensions were as low as $9 per month in the Asian republics and $55 per month in Russia. Today, pensions typically arrive months late, if they arrive at all. The average pension does not exceed $20 per month in any country in the FSU, and it is often less. This does not cover even minimal food needs, housing rental, heating costs or medicines.
The Shoah and World War II left large numbers of present day elderly childless and without support; others have remained while their families have made Aliyah. Forty thousand are homebound and an additional 55,000 leave their homes very rarely.
Current Services and Unmet Needs In the FSU, there is virtually no public "safety net" for older people. The health and social service system has collapsed. Lack of even the most basic supplies in hospitals is common. The demand for social services overwhelms the meager supply. There is no public support for home care. There are virtually no residential facilities for the elderly and none specifically, for Jews. The safety net of the Jewish community is provided by the JDC with significant support from the Claims Conference.
While elderly Nazi victims in the FSU have the full range of needs that their counterparts do all over the world, their situation is so desperate that the most basic needs tend to come to the fore. These include:
Food The need for food in the FSU is widespread and the response takes several different forms - congregate hot meals for those who are mobile; meals on wheels for those who are not; and food packages to both groups. The core of the food program is the food package containing basic staples. Eligible clients receive an average of four packages a year; they need at least six.
In addition, hot meals are provided either in congregate settings, private homes (Bayit Cham or "warm home"), or meals-on wheels to homebound individuals. The Bayit Cham program is one answer to both nutritional and socialization needs of the elderly. These "warm homes" are home-based, mini-day centers which are housed in apartments of volunteer hosts; they also are used for holiday programs. There are about 600 warm homes serving 8,000 elderly. Many more are needed.
70 Home Care Thousands of Nazi victims in the FSU suffer from debilitating health problems, loneliness, and a lack of basic care. Services provided include both personal care and housekeeping. On average, clients receive two visits of two to four hours per week. Most of them need much more than four to eight hours a week of care; they should be receiving 10 to 20 hours per week.
Medical Assistance The desperate medical situation in the FSU means that Nazi victims need to get medical consultation, medicine, and medical equipment from the Jewish community or they won't get it. Volunteer doctors provide medical consultation, and a loan program for medical equipment is operating. The most basic medicines are being distributed in 23 cities; it is estimated that the current program meets only about 30% of the need.
Winter Relief It is not uncommon for an elderly Nazi victim to live in sub-standard housing with no heat or hot water during the harsh winter months. A large number of needy people are provided with winter fuel, clothing, and blankets to meet these needs.
Hesed Program The basic system for supporting Nazi victims in the FSU is the Hesed network of centers all over the FSU providing not only social services, but the home care, food, and medical assistance described above as well as yiddishkeit and a connection to the community. The Claims Conference is a major funder of Hesed services, focusing on those centers where 60% to 90% of the clients are Nazi victims. The program relies heavily on volunteers, which enables the Hesed centers to provide life-sustaining services at a remarkably low unit cost.
In general, recipients receive the most modest level of care, not only when compared with Israel, the USA and Western Europe, but even when compared with service levels in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.
While day-to-day needs at the most basic level, must and do, dominate the work of services to older Nazi victims in the FSU, it is also difficult to conceive of a care system for older people in which there is no institutional care for those who cannot manage at home. In the current context, costs of constructing nursing home beds would be prohibitive. The construction of capital facilities to meet social needs should be funded by wealthy individuals from around the world and over time, from the FSU itself. Considering that there are many wealthy individuals who are themselves Nazi victims, it might make sense to appeal to these individuals to direct some of their philanthropic resources to develop a minimal amount of the physical infrastructure needed for institutional care for the oldest and frailest Nazi victims in the FSU.
71 The USA Needs of Jewish Older Persons A summary of recent Jewish population studies in the United States reveals relatively low percentages of the population with unmet needs for services.41 For example:
• Home Health Care: Of households with an "elderly" member (typically 65 and over), on average, 12%-13% required home health care (12 studies: range: 3% to 17%). This estimate may be high because 4 of the studies were conducted in retirement communities. In most communities, Jewish- sponsored home health care was negligible (12 studies; range: 0% to 2%). Almost all of those requiring home health care received it (from sources that were not Jewish). The average gap - those reporting a need for home health care but not receiving it was only about 1% (14 studies; 0% to 2%)
• Transportation: Of households with an "elderly" member (typically 65 and over), on average, 9% reported needing help with transportation (14 studies; range: 3% to 15%). On average, 7%, the large majority, used transportation not under Jewish auspices. (14 studies: range: 1% to 13%). A relatively small percentage - 2% to 3% reported their needs were not met (14 studies; range: 0% to 5%).
This confirms what is widely known - most people over 65 are essentially self- sufficient and are able to access the services they need when they need them, although not always under Jewish auspice. At the same time, those over 80 or 85 are likely to have more substantial needs, and may have difficulty securing the quality, quantity, and access to services that they need when they need them, particularly when a health crisis is often a trigger for service need.
Social Welfare Needs of U.S. Nazi Victims Current Resources For Nazi victims in the United States, the same five systems of support operating in the rest of the world are relevant, with some specifically American dimensions:
• First and foremost, informal care provided by family members - typically adult children (most often daughters and daughter-in-laws) and spouses - and to a lesser extent, by neighbors.
41 Ira Sheskin Compilation of Data from Jewish Population Studies in the United States (Preliminary draft, 1999).
72 • Second, personal resources to pay for privately funded services (i.e. personal care), and also private long term care insurance (which is assumedly held by a small proportion of Nazi victims.) • Third, resources in the general community - such as Medicare for those 65 and over, with acute medical needs, and Medicaid for those whose incomes are below the poverty line, as well as assistance from non- sectarian agencies; • Fourth, resources in the Jewish community - typically old age homes, (subsidized) housing for independent living, counseling and care management, and recreation, culture and education (community centers); often day programs; and some assisted living, home care and transportation • Fifth, specific programs or funding for Nazi victims, typically provided by the Claims Conference.
Under-served Population Information from interviews suggests that the Russian as well as the Hassidic populations of Nazi victims might be under-served. It is possible that these populations tend to rely more on informal types of homecare (provided by relatives or local volunteers) and also on homecare that is paid for out of pocket at rates that are lower than those charged by the agencies. The Hassidic population is reportedly often uncomfortable about relying on helpers who come from outside of their community. Especially problematic are situations where a male client requires ADL assistance (e.g. dressing, toileting, etc.) and only female attendants are available.
Another barrier to providing services to these sub-populations is that the organizations that have been established specifically for the purpose of serving them are often newer and consequently, less knowledgeable about the system. To access services for their clients, agency staff need to successfully navigate among the myriad of public and not-for-profit social service agencies and also to understand the complex - and ever changing - regulations surrounding government benefits.
Community Based Care Unlike Israel or the FSU, it is impossible to generalize about community-based care in the United States. The publicly funded safety net for older Americans varies by state. Although many states provide home care to people who are poor by welfare standards or who have become poor as a result of large health care expenses, the level of publicly financed home care varies tremendously from state to state. The alternative, the out of pocket payment for home care, is extremely costly and therefore, unaffordable to many middle-income people. Social service staff in numerous Jewish Family Service agencies throughout the country decried the lack of additional home care funding because they claimed that their clients' needs were not being met with the few hours that they were receiving.
73 Within the formal system, there are four primary sources of payment for home care. Of the $30 billion spent on home care during 1996, Medicare financed 45% (typically for time-limited post hospital care) while state and local sources, particularly Medicaid, paid for another 14%. Individuals paid out-of-pocket for another 20%, while all other sources, including private insurance, financed the balance of home health care services. In 1996, an estimated $109 billion was spent on long-term care of which $79 billion was for nursing home care and $30 billion was spent on home-based care. [Levitt, et al., 1977]
Medicaid funds home care for the indigent elderly. Support levels under Medicaid vary by state: benefit levels under homecare range from eight to ten hours per week to 40 hours or more for people who are severely disabled. In New York City, the median weekly benefit under the Medicaid funded Home Attendant program in 1998 was 28 hours per week and the mean was 42 hours per week.
Some states such as New York, Massachusetts and California have a strong commitment to community based care. Others, such as Florida and Pennsylvania have little commitment to support of home and community-based care. (See Exhibit 3).
Exhibit 3. Total Home and Community-based Long Term Care Expenditure (HCB S) Per Person Age 65+, by State (1996 data) for States with a Significant Jewish Population
State HCBS $ per person 65+ Rating New York $1131 Very High Massachusetts 392 Very High California 301 Very High Texas 249 High New Jersey 216 High Michigan 170 Average Illinois 163 Average Maryland 84 Low Ohio 80 Low Pennsylvania 65 Very Low Florida 60 Very Low
In addition, the distribution of Nazi victims varies tremendously by state. Based on information received from the Meed registry of Nazi victims it appears that the following States have the greatest concentrations of Nazi victims.
74 Exhibit 4. Distribution of Nazi Victims in the USA, by State *
State Percent in Registry New York 42% California 15 Florida 8 New Jersey 7 Illinois 5 Pennsylvania 4 Ohio 3 Maryland 3 Massachusetts 2 Michigan 2 Connecticut 1 Texas 1 Other States 7 Total, U.S.A. 100% *Meed Registry of Holocaust Survivors
When these two variables are compiled - the public sector's support for community-based care and the relative size of the Nazi victim population - one can get a very rough sense of a framework for home care priorities. The Claims Conference can help fill the gaps in the American social service safety net for Nazi victims caused by the great variability which exists among the states.
For example, other things being equal, requests for funding for home or community-based care from agencies in states with low or very low levels of support for home and community-based care such as Florida or Pennsylvania are responding to higher levels of need than states such as New York or California or Massachusetts where there is greater public support. Florida, with a high concentration of Nazi victims and very low state support for home-based care is probably a key priority area for the Claims Conference.
The U.S. has a large number of Nazi victims, but they represent a relatively small percentage of older Jewish Americans. They are spread over a vast country with quite significant differences among the welfare frameworks in different states. The large majority is economically self-sufficient. Because Nazi victims are dispersed and comprise a relatively small proportion of the community and of the elderly, they do not represent a force or category of need that is widely recognized. Moreover, and because most are self-sufficient and fully integrated, Nazi victims are not an easily identifiable category of need to the Jewish social service system in the United States.
The Jewish human sen/ice system in the United States needs to respond on three levels:
75 • Most Nazi victims need the kinds of services that a caring Jewish community should be providing - outreach; case management; socialization experiences; counseling/supportive therapy/ training for staffs providing services to Nazi victims.
• A smaller number, but still not insubstantial need the "harder services": Dental Care; Prescription Drugs and Supplementary Medical Insurance; transportation and transportation companions; Home Alterations/Redesign for Injury Prevention; and help with Medical Equipment.
• A relatively small number are in desperate need - the very poor, the very sick, the isolated, and the childless, are virtually invisible to the community. They need food, rent assistance or housing, medical equipment, medicine, and the basic necessities of life.
Eastern Europe Characteristics of Nazi Victims in Eastern Europe Today, there are 9,000 Nazi victims receiving aid from the JDC in 11 countries. These countries include: Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and Bulgaria. All victims are eligible for monthly cash assistance if their income falls below a certain minimum determined by local Jewish communities. Others, just above the line, are eligible for other forms of assistance. In Romania 85% of Nazi victim recipients are without families.
State pensions and other stipends are meager and require "topping up" in order to meet bare necessities. The social safety nets created by Communism have been eroded in the new democracies. In several countries, governments have provided some financial assistance which will mitigate some of the burden of care. Inflation has eroded the monthly stipends provided, and the ability of local communities to purchase other necessities for the clientele. Local communities contribute towards the welfare costs in accordance with their means. The Czech republic has the first organized Jewish community that can begin to take care of their own. For the first time, the German government, under its compensation plan, has allocated funding (administered by the Claims Conference), for Nazi victims in Eastern Europe. This funding will also lighten the current welfare obligations.
If property confiscated by the Nazis and Communists in Eastern Europe is returned, this will ease the burden on Eastern European communities.
76 Western Europe
Context After the Shoah, the American Jewish community and the Claims Conference helped to rebuild the Jewish communities of Western Europe. All are now financially self-sufficient with extensive communal infrastructures. Western European societies typically have relatively strong social safety nets.
By far the largest concentrations of Nazi victims in Western Europe is in France, with over 50,000 surviving Nazi victims. France, with the largest Jewish population in Western Europe (600,000), is still struggling to integrate half of its Jewish population, who came from North Africa in the mid-1960s, into a community structure formerly dominated by the indigenous Jewish population, many of them Eastern European Nazi victims. Great Britain, which escaped the Shoah, has a relatively large number of flight cases who were able to flee from Germany early in the Shoah. British Jewry has an experienced cadre of committed leadership, and strong professionally-led social service programs. Germany, with the third largest population of Nazi victims in Western Europe, also has a strong social service system, and a Jewish communal structure that is struggling with rapid growth.
All other Western Europe communities have relatively small numbers of Nazi victims, and relatively few are in need.
Rest of the World
Canada and Australia are the only other countries to have relatively large concentrations of Nazi victims - about 20,000 people each.
Canada Support is being provided for diverse community based social welfare projects (e.g. casework, counseling, community outreach). However, the level of support for home-care services appears low in relation to the other community and residential based supports that are being provided.
Australia Support is being provided for home care sen/ices, and other in-home sen/ices similar to those in the U.S. There is no funding being provided for institutional care.
77 South Africa Extremely few requests for social welfare assistance for Nazi victims were received for Claims Conference funds from South African Jewish communities. No Claims Conference funding appears to be provided for home care services or for housing the elderly. Minimal support is provided to residential care facilities (e.g. nursing homes.)
South America (Argentina & Brazil) Support is provided for nursing homes. It is not provided for funding home care services.
Implications of Social Welfare Needs for Planning Priority: the FSU By far, the largest population of the neediest survivors is in the FSU - about 50% of the poor Nazi victims in the world. Many of the poorest, elderly Nazi victims in the FSU are destitute. There is no public or local Jewish communal safety net. While there has been significant out-migration of older Jews to Israel, it is likely that the large majority of older Jews will remain and live out their lives in the FSU.
2nd Priority Israel Israel has the largest number of near-poor Nazi victims - more than 50% of those in the world. Israel, with the largest population of Nazi victims, has a relatively strong safety net, but the safety net has some definite, and specific gaps. Israel also has played a very important role in the rescue and rehabilitation of Nazi victims, including recent immigrants from the FSU. Some of the recent immigrants from the FSU are probably "falling through the cracks".
3rd Priority: Eastern Europe and the United States • Many surviving Nazi victims in Eastern Europe are poor and in great need, but in much smaller numbers, and not to the same degree as those in the FSU.
• While the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, and has a strong organized Jewish community, it also has a somewhat porous safety net that varies a great deal from state to state. There are definitely small numbers of Nazi victims with substantial needs, especially recently arrived immigrants from the FSU. It is possible that many of those who are not receiving services, are not being reached partly because of their own pride and reluctance to seek services. It would be useful to develop and test innovative service delivery models with an outreach component. Variations among states, makes some places higher priority than others (e.g. Florida).
78 4th Priority: Western Europe and the Rest of the World • Western Europe has a substantial numbers of Nazi victims but Western Europe's generally strong social services and self-reliant Jewish communities provide a useful safety net.
There are needy Nazi victims in the rest of the world. However they are relatively few in number and scattered - aside from a few places where significant numbers of Nazi victims do live in one place such as Australia or Canada. Most of the larger communities in the rest of the world are also relatively self- sufficienti\
79 Exhibit 5. Summary of Implications of Needs for Planning
Characteristic FSU Israel USA Europe Rest of the World Size of Nazi victim Large Large Large Large Small Population Percent of population High Low who are Nazi Low Moderate Moderate victims Percent of 60+ population High High Low Moderate Moderate who are Nazi victims Percent of Nazi victims Low to Low to population Very High Moderate Low Moderate Moderate who are poor or near poor General Strong Varies Varies Varies Community Very Weak with gaps from Weak from Weak from Weak Safety Net to Strong to Strong to Strong JDC Jewish strong; Varies Varies Varies Community local from weak from Weak from Weak Safety Net community to strong to Strong to Strong weak Small Large Large Numbers Moderate Small Summary Of Numbers; Numbers; in Serious Numbers; Numbers: Needs Major Specific Need; Variable Smaller Needs Needs Variable Needs Needs By State
80 Documentation and Research Needs
In the field of documentation and research, a major task is the strengthening of the lead institutions which focus on the Shoah and its lessons This in fact has been a top priority of the Claims Conference in this area. This has taken many forms, primarily the building of their physical infrastructure.
Capital projects for Major Institutions From its inception, the Claims Conference has been a major provider of funds for the Holocaust Memorial Authority of Israel -Yad Vashem. The special relationship dates to the founding of Yad Vashem, when 50% of the funding came from the Claims Conference. Currently the Claims Conference is a one- third partner with the government of Israel and Yad Vashem itself in Project 2001. This initiative will make Yad Vashem a state of the art research and educational facility. This will include the new archives and library facility (completed) and the renovation of the exhibition facilities and educational complex. The Claims Conference has also made possible the expansion and renovation of other research and exhibition facilities in Israel - including Beit Lohamei Haghetaot, Massua, Moreshet-Mordechai Anielevich Memorial and Beit Hatefutsoth.
Outside of Israel, the Conference has provided funding for the Imperial War Museum and Beth Shalom in England; Sydney Jewish Museum in Australia; Cape Town Holocaust Center in South Africa; Memorial of the Unknown Jewish Martyr in France; The Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, Jewish Historical Museum in Belgrade and the Holocaust documentation center in Bratislava among others.
The Claims Conference has not funded monuments and memorials, leaving that work to others, primarily local communities.
While there is likely to be a need for some additional physical infrastructures, a large proportion of this work has been completed. It is hoped that in the future, philanthropic Nazi victims and others will continue to contribute to meeting capital requirements and will in fact increase their contributions as needed. Private philanthropy played a major role in constructing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
81 Documentation Collecting, organizing, preserving, microfilming and computerization of archives
With the passing of time, the preservation of documents relating to the Shoah has assumed great urgency. The Claims Conference has been committed to preserving these irreplaceable documents, pictures, and artifacts and, wherever possible, funding projects to make these materials accessible to scholars and students worldwide. Significant funding has been provided to Yad Vashem, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
According to experts in the field, the current primary need in the field of Holocaust documentation is to "rescue the evidence." This entails several steps including: surveying the material to determine where it is located; microfilming the material; and centralizing the archives. This work has an element of time pressure for several reasons. First, the political climate in many countries where the evidence is located (e.g. Austria), could result in the archives not being available on an ongoing basis. Secondly, there are critical preservation issues related to the delicate nature of the paper on which the records were kept.
Museum experts reported that there are millions of pages of archival documents scattered around the world in many far-flung locations including: Paraguay, Shanghai, Russia and in local church records. Much of this evidence - in particular the material in the FSU and recently declassified material in the USA - is newly available. The evidence includes not only paper but also films and photographs (In general, the Shoah was extremely well documented). Some experts estimated that this entire archival project needs to be completed within 10 years, at a probable additional cost of $10 million to $20,million.
There are three additional needs in the area of documentation and research
• Testimony - to record the voices of the Nazi victims while that is still possible. Work completed, and in progress, including that of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, will document testimony of 70,000 individuals. This is far short of the numbers of Nazi victims in the world today. The Claims Conference has not funded the production of videotape testimonies.
• Dissemination - to insure that the reality of the Shoah is accurately portrayed to the largest possible audience on an ongoing basis. This is a never-ending task. A key challenge is to apply modern media, specificallyjntemet and CD-Rom technology, to the considerable material that exists already.
• Identifying the victims through compiling lists of all those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis and creating an integrated data base of the
82 names of as many Shoah victims, as possible. This is a very costly and time-critical activity. Research There are two dimensions to the need for research about the Shoah: 1. Support for major research centers; 2. Support for individual scholars, especially emerging scholars.
In general, the Claims Conference has focused on the first category, providing grants to major institutions involved in research on the Shoah. In addition, through the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, relatively modest grants have been made both to scholars for publications and to graduate students for dissertation support.
Some experts believe that a highly selective, prestigious grant program is necessary to insure the flow of first-rate scholars into the field in the future. The Wexner Fellowship program might be a model for such a program.
Jewish Education and Cultural Programs to Insure Jewish Survival
While the Claims Conference has hitherto focused its resources on education about the Shoah itself, there are many who believe that one of the major consequences of the Shoah was the threat to the survival of the Jewish people themselves. According to this logic, investments made to secure the Jewish future meet the test of using Claims Conference successor organization funds in relation the Shoah and its consequences.
The Shoah placed the survival of the Jewish people at risk; the powerful pulls of assimilation extend the threat in today's world, especially for children and youth. The next generation is at risk world-wide, including Israel. There are 3.5 million Jewish children, youth and students in the world, of which nearly one-half are in Israel.
Outside of Israel: • 50% of all Jewish children, youth and students are receiving no Jewish education • Intermarriage is increasing world-wide • Israel experience programs reach less than 20%
Within Israel: • Judaic knowledge is down • Alienation from Jewish heritage is up • Ignorance about, (and alienation from) world Jewry is up ^Around the world, the next generation depends on many factors, including three that are potentially relevant to the Claims Conference:
83 • Training senior Jewish educators and teachers from around the world
• Designing materials and disseminating innovative ideas, including the use of new technologies
• Providing Jewish children and youth with direct Jewish experiences, including appropriate travel
One way to bridge the two areas of need - strengthening Jewish peoplehood and the Jewish future - and Shoah-related education - is to invest in modern Jewish history, focusing on the integration of the Shoah into Jewish history, Jewish thought, and Jewish experience.
Education about the Shoah In the Jewish Community
There appears to be growing interest in teaching the lessons of the Shoah, both in the general community and in the Jewish community. Ironically, experts report that there appears to be greater interest in education about the Shoah in the general community than in the Jewish community.
Experts report that there appears to be more focus on awareness of the Shoah then on knowledge about the Shoah in Jewish communities and especially in Jewish schools. Commemorations of Yom Hashoah, and Holocaust Centers and Memorials are widespread at least in Israel, the United States and the West.
In Israel, teaching the Shoah is an integral part of education from schools to the Army and Yad Vashem. Organizations such as Beit Lohamei Haghetaot, Massua and Moreshet are key players. Relatively few communities outside of Israel have trained Jewish teachers in how to teach the Shoah. For example, few Jewish schools have integrated teaching about the Shoah into their curricula.
The Claims Conference has supported educational programs aimed at the Jewish community in two areas:
• Teacher training with a focus on Israel and the United States (but also some in South America and the FSU)
• Educational programs, with a focus on trips to concentration camps/death camps and sites of Nazi atrocities
But a great deal remains to be done.
84 • Education about the Shoah in the FSU. The average Jewish child or young adult in the FSU - one of the largest Jewish communities in the world - does not even know the word "Shoah" or Holocaust.
• Curricula and materials for Jewish schools outside of Israel, including CD-ROMs and web-sites
• Continuing trips, which are widely viewed as effective vehicles for education
Education About the Shoah In the General Community
Overview Education about the Shoah in the general community has two dimensions. Its specific history and its universal aspects: "The event itself, its causes and its moral, psychological, social and political dimensions was specific history; and its universal aspects, because increasingly serves today as a symbol for things we ought to oppose - racism, genocide, mass murder, ethnic hatred, ethnic cleansing, anti-Semitism, and group hatred. In order to deal with the universal implications, we must deal with the Shoah's particular history. We don't live in abstractions. All historical events are concrete, specific, particular. It is precisely the fact that it happened to a particular group of people that makes it of universal importance, because all group hatred is always directed against specific groups, for specific reasons in specific circumstances. Evil is always concrete, specific, if you want to teach about it, teach specifics, with actual cases of real people...The concept of race and racial hierarchy endangers all peoples, endangers world peace, endangers human relations between all humans. Because what happened to the Jews can and does happen, though not in the same way, to others... It was unprecedented but now the precedent is there."42
In a series of studies between 1992 and 1995, the American Jewish Committee has probed both of these issues in a representative group of countries: Australia, Austria, France, Great Britain, Poland and the United States. Their findings have implications for the approach to education about the Shoah in the general community.
The first four columns in Exhibit 6 summarize findings about specific knowledge about the Shoah; the last two columns summarize the information about understanding of the significance of the Shoah.
42Bauer, Stockholm, 2000
85 Exhibit 6 Knowledge and Understanding of the Shoah in the Selected Countries, 1992-1995 . 1 2 3 4 5 6
72% 84% 48% 70% 80% 72% Australia 82% 89% 30% 85% 54% 62% Austria 68% 88% 46% 88% 78% 87% France 86% 90% 36% 90% 52% 68% Germany 56% 78% 41% 55% 72% 72% Great Britain NA 89% 34% 72% 68% 86% Poland 61% 62% 35% 42% 62% 70% United States KEY: 1 Percentage of respondents with some awareness of what the term "the Holocaust" means 2 Percentage of respondents who know that Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka were concentration camps 3 Percentage of respondents who know that approximately six million Jews were killed by the Nazis 4 Percentage of respondents who know that Jews were forced to wear a yellow star/Jewish star during the Second World War 5 Percentage of respondents who believe that the Holocaust is still relevant today 6 Percentage of people who consider it essential or very important for people in their country to know about and understand the Holocaust
Less than half of the respondents in all six countries surveyed were aware that nearly 6,000,000 Jews were murdered in the Holocaust - ranging from 30% in Germany to 46% in Australia. Knowledge of other aspects of the Shoah were relatively high in Germany, Poland, and France and relatively low in the United States and Great Britain. The recognition of the importance and relevance of the Shoah was relatively high in Great Britain and the United States and relatively low in Austria and Germany.
The Claims Conference has supported educational programs aimed at the general community in two areas:
• Teacher training
• Museum Exhibits in major museums around the world
86 Given the growing interest in the Shoah in the general community, there is a continuing need to train teachers and prepare materials, including the use of new technology.
Other Areas of Need: Righteous Gentiles
Beginning in 1963, the Claims Conference created the first fund to provide grants to Righteous Gentiles. The Claims Conference program has provided grants to 784 Righteous Gentiles. In 1989, the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers (now renamed Jewish Foundation for the Righteous) was created for the purpose of providing funding to previously unrecognized Righteous Gentiles.
Currently, in addition to continuing to provide modest grants to those initially recognized by the Claims Conference, funds are allocated annually to the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, in support of their work. The Foundation sends monthly support to nearly 1,600 aged and needy rescuers in 26 countries to pay for food, housing, and medical expenses. Most are in their 70's, 80's and 90's. Many are in ill health and/or live in poverty. The Foundation reports that it has 43 needy righteous individuals on their waiting list to receive such grants.
The Claims Conference funding is used to support Righteous Gentiles worldwide, with the exception of Israel, where the government has undertaken a program to support Righteous Gentiles there.
87 Appendix Five
SUBMISSIONS FROM INTERESTED PARTIES TO THE CLAIMS CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE
Jewish Care - Michael Goidmeier
Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel - Itzhak Artzi
Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel - Zvi Gill
Yad Vashem - Prof. Shevach Weiss
Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities - Gusztav Zoltai
Agudat Israel (Submission in Swiss Bank Settlement)
World Union for Progressive Judaism/Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Relgion - Jonathan Cohen
Conference of European Rabbis - Councillor Aba M. Dunner
California Association of Holocaust Child Survivors - Zenon Neumark
Southern California Council for Soviet Jews - Si Frumkin
Holocaust Survivors of South Florida, Inc. - Leon Schagrin, Julius Eisenstein
American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, Inc. - Israel Arbeiter
Jewish Family & Children's Service, Boston - Ira Schor
Jewish Family Service, Los Angeles - Sandra King
Wolf Finkelman
Rabbi Adam A. Winston
Robert J. Ellyn
Solomon Wieder
These submissions arose out of the official press announcement of the establishment of the Committee, as well as requests for submissions in mailings to the Board of Directors of the Claims Conference, letters to interested parties and a public announcement in "Update", the newsletter of the Claims Conference.
88 I Appendix Six
CONFERENCE ON JEWISH MATERIAL CLAIMS AGAINST GERMANY, INC. rojronn riTyi 15 East 26th Street • Room 906 • New York, NY 10010 • Tel: (212) 6964944 • Fax (212) 679-2126 • Email: [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/29/99 OFFICERS President Rabbi Israel Miller CLAIMS CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE Executive Vice President Gideon Taylor HOLDS INAUGURAL MEETING Vice Presidents Abraham Bidennan Ignatz Bubis Roman Kent Rabbi Israel Miller, President of the Conference on Jewish Sallai Meridor Israel Singer Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), convened the Jack J. Spitzer first meeting of the Planning Committee in response to the changing needs Joseph Wilf of Jewish institutions around the world. Honorary Treasurer Akiva Lewinsky The committee, chaired by legal scholar and University of Treasurer Pennsylvania Professor A. Leo Levin, will conduct a comprehensive Moshe San bar Secretary and Special Consultant review of needs and resources worldwide as well as funding priorities. Saul Kagan "The need for this process has become more compelling over the Counsel Julius Bennan last several years as the competing needs on the Claims Conference's nal Members of the Executive resources have grown," Miller said as last week's meeting got under way. Andrew Baker The panel will meet several times over the next few months and Noach Flug Ben Helfgott give its findings to the Board of Directors. Benjamin Meed The Planning Committee will also examine the membership of the STAFF Claims Conference, which represents world Jewry in negotiations for Representative in Germany irector of Successor Organization compensation and restitution from the German and Austrian governments Karl Brozik and other entities. Founded in 1951, it is also an operating agency that Representative in Austria ssodate Executive Vice President administers compensation funds, recovers Jewish property and allocates Moshe Jahoda funds to institutions that provide social welfare services to Holocaust Assistant Execute Vice President survivors and that preserve the memory and lessons of the Shoah. irector of Institutional Allocations Greg Schneider The distinguished members of the committee, who serve in a Representative in Israel Avraham Pressler personal capacity: Associate Director of Allocations Nina Bassal, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Miriam Bacon Moshe Bcjski. Israeli Supreme Court Justice (Ret.) and Cliairman of Director of Special Projects Massua Assistant-tepl Counsel Cobi BenatofT, President of the European Council of Jewish Communities Karen Heilig Director otCommunications Julius Bennan, Legal Counsel for the Claims Conference Alissa Kaplan Abraham Bidennan of Agudath Israel World Organization Director of Services Nicolae Cajal, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Ebrire Neumann Romania Article 2/Hardship Fund Menachem Elon, Israeli Supreme Court Justice (Ret.) Israel Director Noach Flug, Secretary General of the Centre of Organizations of Holocaust . Haim Hulier Article 2/IIardship Fund/CEEF Survivors in Israel Germany Director Ben Helfgott, Chairman of the '45 Aid Society Holocaust Survivors, United Svetlana Valkanova Kingdom Article 2/IL-jdship Fund Abraham Hirchson, Member of Knesset and Chairman of the Parliamentary United States Director Committee for the Return of Jewish Property Scmytw Pn—liter Chief Financial Officer Joseph Berger .New York Controller David Goldman General Controller Metamed • Sallai Meridor, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel • Israel Miller, President of the Claims Conference • Roman Kent, Chairman of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors • Michael Koll-Nesher, Chairman of the Association of Immigrants from Central Europe • Ben Meed, President of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors • Michael Melchior, Israeli Minister of Israel-Diaspora Afiairs • Alexander Osovtsov, Executive Vice President of the Russian Jewish Congress • Marlene Post, Former President of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America • Moshe Sanbar, Chairman of the Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel • Alexander Schindler, Former President of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations • Michael Schneider, Executive Vice President of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee • Anita Shapira, Director of the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies at Tel Aviv University • Israel Singer, Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress • Jeff Solomon, Former Chief Operating Office of UJA-Federation of New York and President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies • Adolph Steg, Chairman of Alliance Israelite Universelle At the Claims Conference
Conference Publishes process of learning about compen- Guide to Restitution sation and restitution programs is The Claims Conference has just * frustrating and confusing," said published its Guide to Rabbi Israel Miller, president of the V amrj Claims Conference cownmcc ON Compensation and Restitution for I ^^m ' KW1W HtlOlU CLAIMS (—AGAINSV T CCRMAMT * Claims Conference. "It is our hope Holocaust Survivors, the first publi- Guide to Compensation and that this guide outlines the existing Restitution for Holocaust Survivors cation of its kind. The comprehen- programs and benefits in a clear sive 50-page guide, which is in its and simple way." Editions for Israeli second print run, explains to and European audiences are Holocaust survivors and their heirs planned. all the current and pending restitu- To receive the guide, people can tion and compensation programs. contact their local Jewish social Some 25,000 guides have already service agency. Or, go to the Claims been distributed. Conference Web site at "We are well aware that the http://www.claimscon.org.
The service desk at the Claims Conference receives a tremen- Planning Panel Holds Inaugural Meeting dous number of calls and letters Rabbi Israel Miller, president of the Claims Conference; recently con- daily. At present, about 350 calls vened the first meeting of the Planning Committee in response to the are handled daily by our repre- changing needs of Holocaust survivors and the Jewish world. sentatives. The committee, made up of prominent Holocaust survivors and other Jewish leaders from around the world, will examine funding pri- ; orities for the institutional allocations programs as well as the mem- Web Site Launched bership of the Claims Conference. As part of its continuing effort to The panel, chaired by legal scholar and University of Pennsylvania keep the public well-informed, the Professor A. Leo Levin and guided by Dr. Jack Ukeles of Ukeles Conference on Jewish Material Claims Associates will conduct a comprehensive review of needs and services Against Germany has launched a worldwide as well as funding priorities. Web site: http://www.claimscon.org. If you would like to share your views on these pressing issues, please The site will continue to grow over write to Dr. Jack Ukeles by May 15 at the following address: c/o time. Now on the site is the com- Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, 15 E. 26th St. plete text of the Claims Conference Room 906, New York, N.Y. 10010. Your perspective will be shared with Guide to Compensation and the Planning Committee. Restitution for Holocaust Survivors.
Update 6
Report on Membership A Report of the Planning Committee, Conference on Material Claims Against Germany
Prepared by Jacob B. Ukeles, President Ukeles Associates Inc.
June 28, 2000 25 Sivan 5760 The Planning Committee
Leo Levin, Chairman Nina Bassat Moshe Bejski Cobi Benatoff Julius Berman Abraham Biderman Nicolae Cajal Menachem Elon Noach Flug Ben Helfgott Abraham Hirchson Roman Kent Michael Koll-Nesher Ben Meed Michael Melchior Sallai Meridor Israel Miller Alexander Osovtsov Marlene Post Moshe Sanbar Alexander Schindler Michael Schneider Anita Shapira Israel Singer Jeff Solomon Adoiph Steg
Planning Committee Consultant: Dr. Jack Ukeles
The Membership Subcommittee
Julius Berman, Chairman Cobi Benatoff Abraham Biderman Noach Flug Ben Helfgott Roman Kent Israel Miller Michael Schneider Anita Shapira Contents
introduction A. The Planning Process B. The Planning Committee & The Membership Subcommittee
II. Recommendations on Membership A. Background B. Recommendations
I. INTRODUCTION A. The Planning Process
The basic structure of Claims Conference membership was set in 1951, with only incremental adjustments since that time. Nearly a half century later, the Jewish world is a different place. The purpose of this part of the Claims Conference planning process is to re-examine the membership of the Claims Conference, including the composition of the Board.
This report documents the results of a ten-month planning process to help the Board and professional leadership of the Claims Conference to develop principles to guide the expansion of the membership and Board of the Claims Conference to better reflect the realities of Jewish communal life today.
B. The Planning Committee and the Membership Sub-committee
The planning process was guided by a blue-ribbon Planning Committee. The members were selected by the President of the Claims Conference, Rabbi Israel Miller, to represent a cross-section of the leadership of the global Jewish community.1
The committee met for three intensive all-day meetings - in November in New York City; in March in Jerusalem; and in June in New York City.
In order to facilitate the Committee's work on membership, a special subcommittee was appointed, with Julius Berman as its chair to explore the membership issue and report back to the full Committee.
The subcommittee met in March, immediately prior to the meeting of the full Committee to define the scope of its work, review the current membership of the Claims Conference, to identify issues and explore possible future directions.
At the second meeting of the full Committee, Mr. Berman reported on the subcommittee's work.
The Subcommittee met again in June to develop draft recommendations which were reviewed and adopted by the full Committee at its subsequent meeting to be transmitted to the Board of Directors of the Claims Conference.
1 The members of the Committee and the Subcommittee are listed on the inside cover of this Report. A minority recommendation was also proposed which suggested that the representation of the following organizations should be increased: the Jewish Agency should be increased from 2 to 4, the American Gathering should be increased from 2 to 8, and the Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel from 2 to 8. In addition, a type of security council should be created composed of the Jewish Agency, the World Jewish Congress, the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, and the Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel. This council would have veto power over four areas: negotiations, allocations, budgeting and appointment of committees.
II. RECOMMENDATIONS A. Background
It is neither feasible nor desirable for the Claims Conference to start over with a clean slate. Current members have made a significant contribution to the work of the Conference, understand and support its mission and collectively maintain crucial elements of organizational memory. Continuity of membership is an important principle.
The focus of the Committee's recommendations is adding members to represent significant constituencies that appear to be un-represented or under-represented at the present time. Four such constituencies were identified:
• Europe • FSU, Eastern and Eastern Europe • the Government of Israel • Israel • Holocaust Survivors
B. Recommendations
Europe It was felt that the European Jewish community is inadequately represented in the Claims Conference and that the Eastern and Central European Jewish community is underrepresented in the Claims Conference. It is recommended that: A. there shall be a seat established in the Claims Conference for representation from Eastern and Central Europe and the Claims Conference staff be directed to engage in the appropriate due diligence to determine the appropriate representative body to assume this membership. B. there shall be pan-European representation established in the Claims Conference consisting of the European Council of Jewish Communities and the European Jewish Congress, in association with the Council of European Rabbis and other pan-European bodies to be determined by them. The Claims Conference requests these organizations to discuss among themselves and resolve the modalities of that representation.
Government of Israel It is recommended that as a sign of the partnership between the Claims Conference and the State of Israel, the Claims Conference shall invite the Government of Israel to appoint two persons to participate at meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Claims Conference as observers.
Israel It is recommended that four eminent Israeli personalities be added as ad personam members of the Board of Directors. These personalities would be nominated by the President of the Claims Conference in consultation with the Government of Israel and elected at the Annual Meeting.
Holocaust survivors It is recommended that four Holocaust survivors shall be added as ad personam members of the Board of Directors. These personalities would be nominated by the President of the Claims Conference in consultation with various survivor organizations and elected at the Annual Meeting.