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Last update - 13:10 17/02/2008 Search for Austrian Holocaust survivors gets bogged down By Cnaan Liphshiz Tags: survivors, holocaust, jews  As of last month, all Austrian Holocaust survivors and non-Austrian widows or widowers of survivors are eligible for special financial aid for medical needs, following the signing of a new reparations deal with Vienna. However, the group representing Austrian Jews in Israel says it is having difficulty tracking down all potential aid recipients. In January, the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs agreed to pay up to $2.95 million annually to the Austrian Holocaust survivor emergency-assistance program, following negotiations with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany - a New York-based body representing world Jewry in compensation talks. The Association of Israelis of Central European Origin, which represents the local Austrian Jewish community, subsequently launched a concentrated effort aimed at finding all of the eligible survivors. Hanni Fruchter, who handles the association's contacts with Austrian Jews, said that they are having an especially difficult time tracking down the non-Austrian widows and widowers. Advertisement "The problem is finding these people," noted Fruchter. "Their Austrian spouses may have died a long time ago, and they themselves are neither young nor very well-connected to the Austrian community." "This new settlement is significant, and it owes in part to a realization on the part of Austrian authorities," Gideon Taylor, the Claims Conference's executive vice president, said last week. Before 2003, Austria had not agreed to any reparations, claiming it had been under Nazi occupation during World War II. Fruchter, who immigrated from Germany many years ago, said that, in her experience, Austrian Jews are especially resentful toward their country of origin. "For years they have seen German Jews receiving reparations, while they themselves had been denied any sort of payment because of this attitude by Vienna," she said. Austrian Holocaust survivor Shlomo Reitman, 73, who escaped Austria with his parents when he was four years old, said he considered the settlement "the definition of too little, too late." Reitman, who is blind and eligible for the special aid, said his parents died without ever receiving any compensation for having to leave all their possessions in Austria. For details, call the Association of Israelis of Central European Origin at (03) 516-4461. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Internal fighting Human rights groups say torture is widespread in Palestinian lockups. Danger looms Pentagon chief Robert Gates warns: War with Iran would be 'disastrous.'   1.   The Austrian Myth Of Being Hitler`s First Victim 16:52  |  Norman F Birnberg 17/02/08   2.   I AM FROM AUSTRIA - Please read this 15:30  |  Thomas Herzog 03/05/08   3.   From Mr. Herzog re 23:35  |  Ruth 08/05/08   4.   Search for Austrian Holocaust survivors 16:25  |  Ruth Eva Jokl S Lima 30/07/08

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