Last update - 00:00 09/09/2007
Germany eager to contribute to Holocaust survivors' welfare
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
The German government is anticipating a new Israeli request for a contribution to welfare payments for Holocaust survivors, and is eager to make such a contribution, senior officials in Berlin told Haaretz recently.
Officials in Berlin have closely followed developments in the debate in Israel over the survivors' pensions, with concurrent meetings held on the subject by the German foreign and finance ministries.
Berlin has expressed willingness to finance pensions at least for survivors who were previously overlooked and did not receive reparations.
While Germany has not yet made any public statement on the matter, one official told Haaretz "this issue is of the utmost importance to us, first because of our historic responsibility but also due to the fact that Chancellor Angel Merkel has decided to deal with this personally and she is very concerned with it."
Until now, survivors' organizations have made demands of the Israeli government, but in recent discussions Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he expects Germany to help financing the new pension scheme devised. The new scheme grants survivors at least NIS 1,200 per month after bitter protests forced the Israeli government to retract and revise its previous offer of NIS 83 per month for each person.
Israel has not yet officially requested Germany participate in financing the pension scheme, and Berlin officials would not address the matter on the record. Even so, one official told Haaretz anonymously that "there will be a willingness to help, especially with those survivors who should have received [payments] in the past, but for various reasons fell between the cracks and have not yet received anything".
Germany is, however, awaiting an official request from Israel, and does not intend to take the first step.
In addition, Berlin has closely monitored the landmark petition filed at Tel Aviv District Court two months ago, which demanded Germany pay for psychological treatment of the "second generation," namely, the children of survivors who have been adversely affected by their trauma experienced by their parents. German officials expressed concern that the lawsuit may place result in a whole new generation of people seeking compensation for the Holocaust.