a newsletter for and by holocaust survivors

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A NEWSLETTER FOR AND BY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
NEVER AGAIN
OUR STAFF/ VOLUNTEERS
SUMMER/ FALL EDITION
Vikki Brewster, MSW
Editor
The annual edition of “Never Again” is dedicated to the Drop-in Centre for Holocaust
Survivors’ annual Yom Hashoah commemoration service that took place on Monday,
April 28th.
Myra Giberovitch, MSW
Supervisor
The theme was L’Dor Va-Dor: From Generation to Generation. The younger generation’s involvement was visible in the candle
lighting ceremony and the musical rendition
performed by the Bialik Yiddish Choir.
We mourn the dead and keep
them in our hearts, but we live
our lives. Their memories are
kept by commemorative flames
and by the index cards stored
in The Hall of Names at Yad
Vashem. There are no graves to
visit, no headstones upon which
to shed tears...
This program is meaningful for several reasons. First, it provides an opportunity for
shared grief with peers, family members
and friends. Second, by opening this program to Cummings Centre members and
FEDERATION CJA staff, survivors realize
they are not alone in reflecting on the past
and it is not only the responsibility of survivors and family to remember and mourn.
The Holocaust is part of our communal
history and remembering, mourning, educating are responsibilities for all of us to
share.
Brenda Ajzenkoff
Chava Respitz
Suzie Schwartz
INSIDE THIS EDITION
Daniel Silva, Author
Photo credit: Rina Friedman
šYom Hashoah Program p.2
š Survivor Assistance Office News p.13-19
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5700, avenue Westbury Avenue, Montréal (Québec) H3W 3E8
Tél. 514.342.1234 www.cummingscentre.org
!
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Opening Remarks
We wish to pass on the torch of
remembrance to the next generation. We
write books, give interviews, participate in
projects, and speak to younger people both
Jewish and non-Jewish about our
experiences during the Holocaust. Our hope
is that they will be inspired to be vigilant
and fight against all forms of anti-semitism,
discrimination, and racism.
Rachel Kimel, Drop-in Member
Our Drop-in Centre provides us with the
safe space to talk, to learn, to share, to grow
and to celebrate life, while at the same time
remembering and reflecting on the past. We
have developed a strong bond with one
another and in some instances have become
each other’s families.
Good morning, bonjour, shalom,
On behalf of the members of the Drop-in
Centre for Holocaust Survivors at the
Cummings Centre, we welcome you to our
annual Yom Hashoah Commemoration.
Today is Yom Hashoah. On this day we
remember the members of our families - our
mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the
6 million Jewish people, including 1.5
million children who were murdered in the
Holocaust.
This horrific experience brings us together
to remember and mourn our losses, as we
turn to each other for support. In the early
years we grieved alone, in the company of
our fellow survivors and our families. Now
we grieve together within a supportive
community. We, the survivors have an
important mission – to never forget the
atrocities committed against our people. We
feel an obligation to share the horrors we
saw and endured solely because we were
Jewish. We lost our freedom. We were
dehumanized and experienced living in
ghettos, labour camps, concentration and
death camps. Some of us survived in hiding,
as war refugees or escaped to Russia where
we faced numerous struggles. We were
subjected to beatings, daily humiliations,
sickness and starvation.
We hope the youth of today will carry our
legacy into the future and the world learns
about the Holocaust. It is our hope that our
slogan “Never Again” will one day apply to
all people regardless of their religious
beliefs or colour of their skin.
----------------------------------------------------Rabbi Michael Wolff
We have a mitzvah in Judaism about
remembering. The mitzvah is called Zachor
- remember. It applies on Shabbat - Zachor
et yom hashabbat likadsho - remember the
Sabbath day to keep it Holy. It applies on
Passover - Zachor et yom zaytcha
mimizrayim - remember the day that you left
Egypt. It applies to a lot of mitzvot.
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The rabbis of the Talmud in the Midrash
(torat kohanim) on Leviticus say that the
way we fulfill the mitzvah of Zachor, of
remembering, is by telling the story of the
event that we want to remember. We need to
have the event, arranged in our mouths,
ready to tell it.
That is why when we say Kiddush on
Shabbat, we remember the Shabbat and G-d
as our creator. We mention G-d as the
creator of the world.
When we remember the going out from
Egypt, we read the Haggadah.
When we tell over something, when we tell
over the story, then we remember it, we
bring it to mind, it enters into our
consciousness.
"!
they heard and then it will be passed on to
the next generation.
That is the second part of our ceremony here
today - to pass on the torch - to tell the
memory to the next generation so that the
Genocide not be repeated - so that it should
not happen again.
We remember, we tell what we experience.
We listen, we hear and then we pass on the
experience.
Now we engage in the mitzvah of Zachor,
we sanctify it, we listen, and we transmit it
to the next generation.
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Myra Giberovitch at her book launch two
weeks ago, talked about the need for
Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, to
tell over what happened to them. The
woman, Sandra, who survived the Genocide
in Rwanda, said this also - that the survivors
need to tell their stories.
What we do here today is the same thing we read out the names of the family
members of those survivors who are here
today. We mention the names and we recall
their stories. We do the mitzvah of Zachor.
But there is also an additional step, another
phase, to telling the story - Myra mentioned
it also. Beyond simply telling the story, we
need someone to listen - to hear the story, to
mark the event. That is also part of the
Zachor. We have the narrator and we have
the listener. It is a dialogue that becomes
complete. The person will only tell the story
when he or she knows that someone is
listening. When someone listens then the
story will be heard. The listener repeats what
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Unto Every Person There is a Name
Max, Herbert and Erna Lewy
Myer, Ethel, Abraham, Joel, Rachel,
Miriam, Rivka and Solomon Kimel
Fawel, Chana, Moses, Oscar, Herman,
Berta, Dora and Gusta Moses
Riva Fleischman and Suzana Kohn read
the names of the family members of our
Drop-in Centre participants who were
killed in the Holocaust.
Solomon, Antonia, Anna, Morris and
Ethel Schleichkorn
Gershon, Brucha and Mordechai
Auslander
Srol Elje Krausz
Yankel, Mechel, Toba, Luba and Srul
Ajzenberg
Moshe, Raisel and Shabtai Zelicovitch
Martin and Sara Klein
Frida and Zishe Haar
Ignac Grunfeld
Nochum, Aidel, Aron, Chaim, Esther,
Sara, Israel and Avram Krandels
Erno Linksz
Rafael, Vidke and Mordechai Schmerler
Yakov, Symche and Tzyrla Kohn
Yacov and Cheineh-Riveh Slutsky
Chana, Henya, and Shulem-Eliezer Basch
Masha, Chaim, Mordechai, Bronia and
Pearl Zysmilch
Natan, Pesha, Abish, Louis, and Dora
Laufer
Markus, Zisla, Hirshel, Aron, Hena,
Hana, Rochel, Ita and Sara Masha
Herszlikovich
Maragarute Tichauer
Rose Kohn, Adolph, Sharika,Vallika
Holzman
David, Frida, Laiby, Ilona, Ruchy, Elie
and Michael Fishman
Erno, Irene, Helen and Irma Fischer
Esther-Leah, Harav Aharon, Zlate,
Yisrael Zvi and Yaacov Libstug
Irene Kaufmann
Moshe, Raisel and Saptara Zelikovitz
Ferenc Scwed
Chava, Joseph, Chana, Faiga-Gitta, Toby
and Meir-Ber Stein
Herman, Jennie and Helena Bayreuther
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Alter, Raizal, Jakob, Moshe, Ruth and
Itzchak Wishinski
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Biographies of the Candle Lighters and
Dialogue between the Survivor and
Younger Generation….
Godel Peltz and Sarah Zilbershmiet
Bertha and Alexander Ungar
Dr. Buzzi, Pessia, Anna and Rav Isaac
Sudvarg
Adel Muller and Vera Polgar
Aron and Idel Ghelman
Each candle is lit by two generations
symbolizing the transmission of the
Holocaust legacy from one generation to the
next.
The first candle was lit by:
Grunia Kohn, survivor and Kathleen
King, McGill University Social Work
Intern
Albert, Helen and Istavan Farkas
Gaby Boczen
Edith and Martha Kulik
Israel, Frieda and Elizabeth Fuchs
1.5 Million children were killed in the
Holocaust.
May they rest in peace and never be
forgotten.
Grunia was born in Grodno, Poland to her
parents Yacob and Nechama Slutsky. She
had a large extended family. She is the only
survivor. When the war began, all Jews in
Grodno, including her father and her
mother’s family, were rounded up for forced
labour before being sent to Auschwitz where
they were killed. In 1941, Grunia and eight
other young girls ran away from Grodno
walking three hundred and sixty kilometers
through hard terrain, until they arrived in
Siberia. Here Grunia was forced to work in
an ammunition factory making hand
grenades. After the war, Grunia achieved a
University degree and taught for twenty-six
years in Ukraine. Eventually, Grunia
married Nuhum Kohn, a Jewish Partisan,
and moved to Canada in 1976 with their two
daughters. Grunia is now the proud
grandmother of two grandsons. She is an
award winning Yiddish poet who has written
more than ten books.
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Grunia’s Remarks:
Kathleen, you are a very warm and
understanding person, who helps Holocaust
survivors and understands their needs. You
have helped me a lot and I thank you very
much. I wish you success, and I think you
will be an excellent social worker. May you
never experience war like me and all the
Holocaust survivors and learn from us to
accept whatever you cannot change. I wish
that in the future you share my experience
with your children and future generation.
Kathleen’s Response:
Grunia, thank you for teaching me of the
struggle of survivors who escaped to Russia
during the war. My promise to you and the
other members of the Drop-In Centre, is I
will share your stories with my family, my
children, and future generations so they
remember the millions of people killed in
the Holocaust and the stories of survivors
such as yourself who rebuilt their lives in the
face of adversity. I will teach my children to
speak out when they see discrimination and
violence, protect those who need protection,
and not stand idly by while their neighbours
suffer.
The second candle was lit by:
Devi Marcus, survivor and Jessica Welik,
Cummings Centre Social Worker.
"!
Devi was born in Focsani, Romania. His
family consisted of his parents, Idel Marcus
and Sofica Clepper, his older brother Mandi
and his younger sister Nina. In 1938, the
fascist government of Romania implemented
anti-Semitic laws and began creating ghettos
in Focsani. In 1939, Jews from small towns
in Romania arrived in Focsani in the hopes
of finding safe places to hide. Devi’s father
hid two Jewish doctors from Poland. In
1941, Devi worked in forced labour until
liberation in 1944. He moved to Bucharest
where he married his wife Cristine
Verzeaunu and had their daughter Michella.
They immigrated to Canada in 1967 from
Israel.
Devi’s Remarks:
My wish to the next generation is to be free
and to be proud of being Jewish. I never
want you to feel like we felt being Jewish,
having to hide and live in fear. We were
treated like undesired and unwelcomed
people in our countries. My family lived for
five generations in Romania, and in 1939 all
of this disappeared. I do not want younger
generations to ever experience this. My wish
is that you will never be afraid to say, “I am
a Jew.”
Jessica’s Response:
I sincerely accept your wish and promise to
share this exceptionally important message
with my future children and grandchildren,
as well as my peers. I promise to always be
proud and thankful of my Jewish Identity
and to continue to share the knowledge and
history in order to never forget. Having the
honor to take part in the ‘March of the
Living’ has not only taught me how
important it is to share the history of the
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Holocaust with others, but more importantly
to spend every day feeling proud of our
culture and community. Your resilience,
strength, and courage are quite inspiring and
I promise to honor all of those who were
murdered by “Never Forgetting.”
The third candle was lit by:
Ethel Wishinski, survivor and her
granddaughter Sharona Bilek
"!
She has four grandchildren, Sharona, Aaron,
Adam, and Jason.
Ethel’s Remarks:
Sharona, you are a big joy to your
grandfather and me, and as our only
granddaughter you are unique to us. My
wish is that there should be peace in Israel,
in the world, and among families. May the
Holocaust never be forgotten from
generation to generation.
Sharona’s Response:
Ethel was born in Ungi Romania, in the
province of Moldova. Her family consisted
of her parents Godel Peltz and Sarah
Zilbershmiet, and younger siblings Arie,
Mania, Baruch, and Tania. In 1941, the
Germans began bombing Moldova and Ethel
and her family fled in the middle of the night
to the newly opened boarders of Russia. For
eight months they ran and hid; her parents
died along the way. Finally, Ethel and her
siblings came to a city where they met a
family friend who suggested Ethel attend
school and work in an electricity plant,
while her younger siblings were sent to an
orphanage. For 3 ! years, she worked in the
plant. Here, Ethel met her husband Sam and
they married in 1945. The same year,
carrying false documents, Ethel and Sam
removed her siblings from the orphanage
and hid on a train headed to Poland. In 1946,
they moved to a DP camp in Germany
where she gave birth to her daughter Sarah
and son Alex. The family moved to Israel in
1949 where their daughter Shoshana was
born. They immigrated to Canada in 1959.
Today, we commemorate the more than 6
million Jews who were murdered in the
Holocaust. I know that the life I have and
cherish today was made possible by the
tremendous sacrifices of you and Grandpa.
You have shown strength and courage to
persevere through unimaginable horrors. I
am so fortunate to have been raised in a
loving Jewish family, surrounded by a rich
heritage, and inspirational grandparents,
parents and a brother. I appreciate my
history, and I am looking towards the future
as a proud Jew.
The fourth candle was lit by:
Samuel Wishinski, survivor and his
daughter Shoshana Bilek
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Samuel was born in Warsaw Poland. His
family consisted of his parents Alter and
Raizal Wishinski, older brothers Jakob and
Moshe, sister, Ruth, and twin brother
Itzchak. He is the only survivor. In 1939,
Germany invaded Poland and within months
began placing restrictions on Jews. In 1941,
the Germans began creating ghettos in
Warsaw, where Samuel and his family were
forced to live. Samuel had been caught
many times by the Jewish ghetto police
during his attempts to find food, and was
finally taken to another city for forced
labour. During a march between cities,
Samuel found an opportunity to escape and
fled to Russia, where he was caught because
he was suspected of being a spy. The
Russians sentenced him to three years of
hard labour in the coal mines. When he was
finally released he went to Uzbekistan where
he met his wife, Ethel. In 1945, Samuel
married his wife, and they left Russia. In
1959, Samuel, Ethel and their two children,
Alex and Shoshana, immigrated to Canada.
Today he has four grandchildren, Sharona,
Aaron, Adam, and Jason.
"!
son who lives in Israel, or reading the news
about anti-Semitism somewhere in the
world, I am reminded that whatever I do and
wherever I go, my Jewish heritage follows
me. Never having known my grandparents
or the many aunts, uncles and cousins who
were killed only because they were Jews,
will always be a deep regret in my life.
Remembering what you and mom
experienced during the Holocaust will
always haunt me. I thank God that you
survived the horrors, defying those that
wanted to kill you. I am proud to be a Jew,
married to a Jewish man, and having raised
two Jewish children, who will in turn raise
Jewish children, and in this way we will
ensure your legacy. I love you.
The fifth candle was lit by:
Aggie Strausz, survivor and Arielle
Gottesman, Cummings Centre Social
Worker
Samuel’s Remarks:
I would like to dedicate this candle in
memory of my parents and whole family
who were killed in the Holocaust. My
family, who lived for generations in
Warsaw, Poland, was murdered by the
Germans and their collaborators only
because they were Jews. I light a candle in
memory of them. My wish is that you pass
on my legacy, and never forget the atrocities
of the Holocaust.
Shoshana’s Response:
You raised me to be a Jew and to remember
the Holocaust. Every day, whether I am
thinking of you and mom, thinking of my
Aggie was born in Budapest, Hungary. Her
parents were Scwed and Rosa Ferenc. In
1939, her father was taken to a work camp
from where he returned. When the Germans
occupied Budapest in 1944, her father was
sent to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp
in Germany, where he worked in the mines
and died from starvation. Aggie and her
mother hid in the attic of the house where
they lived. All the other members of the
family, her grandparents and uncle, were
taken to the ghetto. With false identity
papers, Aggie and her mother were always
on the move, hiding in different locations
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and living with the constant fear of being
caught. Their worst fears came true when
they were betrayed by one of the families
housing them, and subsequently put in jail.
They were released into a strange town and
had to find a way to survive until the
Russians liberated Vác. After liberation,
Aggie and her mother returned to Budapest
where she found her grandparents and uncle
alive. They all lived in Budapest until 1956,
when Aggie together with her fiancé Geza
Hesz, her mother and stepfather, Andrew
Strausz, moved to Canada. Her stepfather’s
family, with the exception of his son George
was killed in Auschwitz. In Canada, Aggie
and her husband Geza rebuilt their lives.
They have a son, Robert, two grandchildren
Nikki and Chelsea, and a great
granddaughter Lyana.
Aggie’s Remarks:
I went through the Holocaust at the age of 8,
hiding with my mother. Every day she
would ask herself, “Why am I doing this?
Will I find anyone when I come back
home?” Even after the war it was hard to be
a Jew. My wish is that today you can be
proud to be a Jew and be proud of our
country Eretz Israel.
Arielle’s Response:
I am really proud of my Judaism and that is
reflected in my work here at the Cummings
Centre working to help Holocaust Survivors.
Your experience of being in hiding with
your mother motivates me to be a good
daughter and appreciate my mother. I
promise to never forget your story, to be
proud of my Judaism and to always have
connections to Israel. You are amazing and I
feel very lucky to have met you.
"#!
The sixth candle was lit by:
Moe Gross, survivor and his son
Issie Gross
Moe was born in Lvov, Poland. His family
consisted of his parents, Mania and Israel,
and his sister Edith. He remembers a large
extended family. Moe was 7 years old when
the war broke out. He and his family
remained in Lvov when it was occupied by
the Soviet Union in 1939. After the invasion
of the Soviet Union in 1941, it became
occupied by the Germans. In 1942, Moe and
his family were interned in the ghetto where
sickness and starvation prevailed. In 1943,
his father arranged for Moe and his family to
be hidden by a friend in the cellar of her
home. For 17 months they were hidden in a
6 foot by 6 foot hole in the ground which
Moe and his father had dug out. In 1944,
they were liberated by the Russian army.
After liberation, his family was killed by
Ukrainian nationalists. The remainder of his
family returned to their home in Lvov where
his mother remarried. Fearing for their lives,
in December 1945, they made their way to
Austria where they were interned in five DP
camps. They immigrated to Montreal in
1948 and Moe began to rebuild his life. He
married Carol and they raised two sons, Issie
and Harold. He has five grandchildren,
Mark, Alaina, Jeffry, Anessa and Kelly, and
three great-grandchildren, Sydney, Maya
and Carly.
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Moe’s Remarks:
To me, the Holocaust should be
acknowledged as the worst atrocity in
human history. We are now reaching a time
when Holocaust Survivors will not be here
much longer, and we will be unable to share
our experiences. Therefore, my wish for you
is that you carry on my memories of the
Holocaust and the message to future
generations that we should do our utmost to
ensure, “Never Again.”
Issie’s Response:
I promise to carry on your memories of the
Holocaust, as a lesson for the world, to
ensure that this atrocity will NEVER
HAPPEN again. Just as important, is that I
would like to acknowledge what you and
other survivors have done in rebuilding your
lives after the war. If you dad, and my
mother, Kaila of blessed memory, would not
have married, and had me and my brother,
we would not have had the opportunity of
being appreciative for all the good the world
has to offer. Your marriage, and bringing
children into the world, has afforded me not
only to learn and be compassionate to the
suffering of humankind, but also to learn
about the rich history our people have left
us. My wish for you dad, is to take the time
with which you are blessed, to enjoy and
share all the good you have experienced
with your grandchildren and great
grandchildren. To quote you, “Siz shoin
neinter v vater.” “Share the glass half full!” I
will love you always.
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Financial Assistance Programs Funded by
the Claims Conference and Administered
by the Cummings Centre.
Funding is available for short-term
emergency financial assistance and/or
homecare/cleaning services.
A Holocaust survivor is considered to be any
Jew who lived in Germany, Austria or any of
the countries occupied by the Nazis or their
Axis Allies, and who emigrated after the
following dates and before liberation.
• Germany between 30 January 1933
and May 1945
• Austria between July 1936 and May
1945
• Czechoslovakia between October
1938 and liberation in May 1945.
• Poland between 1 September 1939
and liberation in January 1945 (Note:
the city of Lvov also known as
Lemberg) formerly in Poland and
now in Ukraine was liberated in July
1944
• Algeria between July 1940 and
November 1942
• Tunisia between July 1940 and May
1943
• Morocco between July 1940November 1942 (Those who resided
in Spanish Morocco and the city of
Tangier are not eligible)
• Denmark and Norway between April
1940 and May 1945
• Belgium and Luxembourg between
May 1940 and February 1945
• Netherlands between May 1940 and
liberation in May 1945
• Hungary between April 1941 and
liberation in Budapest in January
1945 (certain parts of Western
Hungary were liberated in March
1945)
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Yugoslavia between April 1941 and
liberation in May 1945
Greece between April 1941 and
November 1944 (liberation of some
islands such as Rhodes was in May
1945)
Libya between February 1941 and
February 1943
Albania between September 1943
and November 1944
Italy between 9 September 1943 and
liberation in April 1945 (Note: Rome
was liberated in June 1944 and more
southern parts of Italy even earlier)
Bulgaria between April 1941 and
September 1944
Romania between April 1941 and
August 1944 (Note: Hungary
occupied Transylvania and SatuMare was liberated in October 1944)
Former Soviet Union occupied
Western areas include:
o Northern Caucasus between
August 1942 and February
1943
o Pskov Region, Russia
between June 1941 and July
1944
o Latvia and Lithuania between
June 1941 and October 1944
(Note: Kurland in Latvia was
liberated in May 1945)
o Estonia between June 1941
and October 1944
o Belarus between June 1941
and July 1944
o Moldova between June 1941
and August 1944
o Ukraine was liberated earlier,
such as Kiev in November
1943, the former Polish parts
of Galicia were liberated later
in summer 1944 (Lwiw
(formerly Lvov) in July
1944) and the former
•
Czechoslovakian KarpatoUkraine was liberated in
October 1944
o Leningrad/St. Petersburg
between June 1941 and
January
o In addition, Jews who
survived the Leningrad siege
are eligible.
o Included are Jewish Nazi
victims who fled between 22
June 1941 and 27 January
1944 from areas of the former
Soviet Union that were up to
100 km from the easterly
advance of the German army,
but were not later occupied
by the Nazis. This covers
cities such as Moscow and
Stalingrad.
Nazi victims include ‘fetus cases’
(persons who were conceived at the
time of their mother’s persecution).
The Nazi victim’s mother must meet
the above criteria.
Survivors must comply with the Claims
Conference definition of a survivor as well
as meet certain financial criteria.
Survivors must apply for compensation
funds with the Claims Conference in
order to benefit from these programs.
Contact INTAKE for more information
about these programs: 514-342-1234.
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Short-term Holocaust Emergency
Financial Assistance is available to help
eligible Holocaust survivors with the
following types of expenses:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rent
Medical care and medication not
paid for by government programs
Medical equipment
Dental care/Dentures
Moving expenses
Food
Utilities
Transportation
Eyeglasses
Clothing
For specific income eligibility criteria,
please call Intake: 514-342-1234.
*Evidence of income is obtained from a
complete income tax return.
-------------------------------------------------Home Care and Cleaning Services
Eligible survivors may benefit from free
homecare and cleaning services.
The following criteria must be met to be
eligible:
• The annual net income of an
applicant may not exceed $25,000
after taxes. The income ceiling
includes interest income on stocks
and other investments.
• Only the income of the Nazi victim
is taken into account (not the income
of his/her spouse)
• The following types of pensions are
not considered as income in the
$25,000 limit:
! Old Age pensions (this
includes government
pensions, social security
payments including ZRGB
payments from Germany,
private occupational
pensions) or retirement plans,
either defined benefits or
defined contributions.
! Pensions awarded for
reduction in earning capacity
for industrial injury or
occupational disease, for loss
of life or any comparable
payment (including private
insurance or pension
insurance, and/or general
accident insurance).
! BEG and Article 2 pensions
*Evidence of income is obtained from a
complete income tax return.
Assets- An applicant may not have assets
that exceed $500,000.
Assets include cash in the bank, the value of
stocks, shares, GIC’s, property value on a
second home as examples.
For any jointly owned assets, only half the
value of the asset is considered.
**The eligibility criteria is subject to
change.
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Survivor Assistance Office News
This is a brief overview of available
restitution and compensation programs. For
further information about any of these
programs, or for any other related
information, please contact:
The Information Line for Holocaust
Survivors and Their Families:
514-345-6434.
You may also consult the Claims
Conference website: www.claimscon.org
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!"#$%$&#'())%)*+,-.'/00%-.1''
Please take note of the hours of the
Survivor Assistance Office.
There is a volunteer on the Information Line
514-345-6434 every day.
Igor Epshtein is the staff person who assists
survivors with applying for different
restitution programs.
His hours are:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. – 12:00
p.m. and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. &
Thursdays 9:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Mondays and Fridays are by appointment
only.
The volunteer for German translation is
available:
Thursdays 2:00pm – 4:00 p.m.
The volunteer for Hungarian translation is
available:
Friday mornings 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Volunteers are available for walk-in only no appointments will be given in advance.
ARTICLE 2 and HARDSHIP FUND
These restitution programs are administered
by the Claims Conference, in order to
provide restitution for those survivors who
were not able to apply for the
Wiedergutmachung (BEG) restitution.
In order to be eligible for Article 2, one must
have been in hiding, in a ghetto for 3 months
or longer, in a concentration camp, and/or
forced labor battalion. There is also
financial criteria; the annual net income may
not exceed U.S. $25, 000, after taxes. Only
the income of the applicant shall be taken
into account (NOT the income of a spouse).
*Please note that government Old Age
pensions, occupational pensions and
retirement plans, as well as pensions
awarded for reduction in earning capacity
are NOT considered income.
The special pensions being paid to eligible
survivors who were in a ghetto for 3 to 11
months will increase to !310 per month
and become a standard Article 2 Fund or
CEEF payment. As of November 1, 2012,
the requirement that a survivor had to be
age 75 or over to receive this special
payment was abolished.
The Claims Conference also negotiated to
reduce the time from 12 months to 6
months that victims had to have lived in
hiding or under false identity in Nazioccupied territories in order to be eligible
for Claims Conference pensions. This will
make up to 5,000 survivors eligible for
monthly pensions starting January 1,
2013, affecting primarily survivors
persecuted in Hungary, Italy, France,
Greece, and Slovakia. This follows a
change in the criteria negotiated in
November 2011 that reduced the time in
hiding or living under false identity from
18 to 12 months
Please Note: The amount of Article 2
compensation is set by the German
government and is a fixed Euro amount.
Currency exchange fluctuations between
the Euro and other currencies will affect
the amount of compensation payments
received when the Euro is converted into
local currencies.
In order to be eligible for the Hardship Fund,
you must have fled Nazi-occupied Europe to
Russia and then trapped behind the Iron
Curtain, or in hiding and/or in the ghetto for
less than 18 months, or in a camp and/or
forced labor battalion for less than 6 months.
There are no financial criteria to apply for
the Hardship Fund.
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Note that persons who stayed in the besieged
Russian city of Leningrad at some time
between September 1941 and January 1944,
or fled the city during this period, are now
eligible to apply for the Hardship Fund.
Also, persons who were fetuses during their
mothers’ persecution are also entitled to
apply for this program.
Up to now, once a final decision had been
made on a case, a second application was
not permitted under the German government
rules based on changed circumstances. This
decision affects Nazi victims rejected by the
Hardship Fund who are alive as of March
19, 2009. This decision includes eligible
Nazi victims who have reached a certain age
(65 for men, 60 for women), where the Nazi
victim is presumed to have suffered the
necessary damage to health required by the
Hardship Fund.
In accordance with the German government
rules governing second applications, persons
who applied for one time assistance under
the Hardship Fund Guidelines and received
a payment from the Claims Conference are
not entitled to apply.
A second application is not a guarantee of
receiving a Hardship Fund payment. The
eligibility criteria for this program are
determined by the German government, and
applicants must meet those criteria to
receive a payment.
The Claims Conference could pay a total of
approximately $26 million to 7,000 Jewish
victims of Nazi persecution who were
subjected to regulations restricting their
freedom of movement. These Holocaust
victims may now be entitled to a one-time
payment from the Hardship Fund, following
Claims Conference negotiations with the
German government.
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The experiences of these Holocaust victims
– many from Morocco who lived under
French collaborationist occupation -- have
never before been acknowledged with even
symbolic payments. The Claims Conference
has been intensively pressing this issue for a
number of years with the German
government. Many Romanian and Bulgarian
victims are also now eligible for a Hardship
Fund payment.
Flight from Non-Occupied Areas
Hardship Fund payments will now be made
to certain Jews who fled ahead of the
advancing Nazi army from some areas of the
Soviet Union that were not subsequently
occupied by the Nazis.
In recent negotiations, the German
government has agreed to include these
Jewish victims in the Claims Conference
Hardship Fund, provided they meet the
program’s other eligibility criteria. The
program issues a one-time payment of
!2,556.
Applicants may now be eligible for a
payment from the Hardship Fund if they fled
between June 22, 1941 and January 27, 1944
from areas of the Soviet Union that were
generally up to 100 kilometers from the
most easterly advance of the German army
(Wehrmacht ), but were not later occupied
by the Nazis.
Those eligible will include Jews who fled
from Moscow and Stalingrad. Eligible
victims will also include those who fled
from Leningrad after June 22, 1941, but
before the siege of that city commenced in
September 1941.
There are no deadlines for these
applications. For more information:
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http://www.claimscon.org/index.asp?url=arti
cle2/overview
http://www.claimscon.org/index.asp?url=har
dship/overview
GHETTO LABOR
COMPENSATION FUND
The German government announced on
September 19, 2007 the establishment of a
new fund to pay symbolic compensation for
voluntary work in Holocaust era ghettoes.
The fund will issue a one-time payment of
!2,000 to Holocaust Survivors who
performed voluntary work in ghettos subject
to criteria of German government.
The one-time payment of !2,000, known as
the Ghetto Fund, administered by
Germany’s BADV federal office, and the
monthly Ghetto Pension awards were
mutually exclusive. Ghetto survivors could
receive one or the other, but not both. The
two types of payments included provisions
to implement this mutual exclusion.
Recent changes in German law now allow
eligible Jewish survivors to receive both
types of payments to recognize their work in
a Nazi-era ghetto. Ghetto survivors who
have never applied to the Ghetto Fund or
the Ghetto Pension should do so at once.
(Please note: The BADV’s Ghetto Fund is
not a new program).
There is no deadline to apply for this
program.
Guidelines in English are available at:
www.tel-aviv.diplo.de
Application forms in English are available
at: http://www.badv.bund.de
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POLISH PENSIONS FOR
HOLOCAUST VICTIMS
Overview
On April 4, 2014, Poland passed legislation
making it easier for eligible survivors who
were Polish citizens during World War II
who currently live outside of Poland to
qualify for monthly pensions.
What is the new legislation?
Previously, pension applicants were required
to have a Polish bank account, which made
it difficult for Holocaust survivors living
abroad to receive payments. Under the new
law, the monthly payments can be deposited
into bank accounts outside of Poland;
applicants can now live anywhere outside of
Poland. The new provision regarding bank
accounts outside of Poland does not go into
effect for six to twelve months from now.
How much is the pension?
Eligible applicants qualify for monthly
payments of about PLN 300 (about $100)
from the Polish government.
Who is administering the pensions?
The Office for War Veterans and Victims of
Oppression is the Polish government body
that administers the pensions.
The office’s website:
http://www.udskior.gov.pl/Home,page,71.html
has information about filing an application.
This is not a Claims Conference program;
it is run by the Polish government.
WEST GERMAN FEDERAL
INDEMNIFICATION LAW-BEG
(WIEDERGUTMACHUNG) PENSION
Those Holocaust Survivors who are
receiving a monthly pension called
“Wiedergutmachung’’ may, under certain
conditions, apply for a pension increase if
their health has sufficiently deteriorated in
the past two years. The pension recipient is
allowed to apply for such an increase every
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two years. Also, a pension recipient may
apply once every two years for the Health
Resort Cure program, designed for
Survivors who may need to go to a Health
Resort or to a Spa in order to improve one’s
health conditions.
Please note that in order to be eligible for
any of those two programs, a claimant will
have to undergo a thorough medical
examination and provide a medical
statement(s) from the physician.
For more information about how to apply
for one of those programs, please contact
Igor Epshtein.
GERMAN SOCIAL SECURITY
PENSION
• ZRBG “Ghetto Pension”
On June 30, 2002, the German government
expanded the eligibility requirements for
former ghetto workers to apply for a German
Social Security Pension. Survivors who
performed some form of “voluntary” work
for some form of remuneration in a Ghetto
that was under the Nazi regime, may be
eligible for a German pension. By voluntary,
it means that the work was NOT forced. By
remuneration, it refers to something that was
above and beyond subsistence wages – for
example, food and lodging or extra rations
alone may be enough. There had to have
been some form of benefits, pay or daily
extra rations in the form of coupons, food,
etc. This is not a restitution payment, like
the Wiedergutmachung (BEG), Article 2, or
slave labour. Survivors who believe they are
eligible can contact the Pension Office of the
Quebec Government for an application
form. Please contact Margrith Wyrsch at:
866-7332, ext. 7802. You can make an
appointment with them; or they can mail you
the form. If you need help filling out the
application form, call our Information
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Line at: 514-345-6434. The deadline to
apply with retroactive payment has passed.
Applications are still being accepted, but
approved pensioners will NOT receive a
retroactive payment.
Following a decision of the German
Federal Social Court
(Bundessozialgericht) in early June 2010,
tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors
previously rejected for German Social
Security payments under the country’s
“Ghetto Pension Law” (ZRBG) will have
an opportunity for a reconsideration of
their rejected claims pursuant to newly
liberalized guidelines.
Those with denied Ghetto Pension claims do
not need to request the re-opening of their
claims in accordance with the court rulings
of June 2009, nor do they have to contact the
ZRBG offices in Germany to have their files
reviewed. All widows/widower of rejected
applicants who have since passed away can
apply for re-examination.
Germany’s parliament unanimously
approved an amendment to the Ghetto
Pensions Law that will increase payments to
some 40,000 Holocaust survivors by
backdating their benefits to 1997.
The survivors in question worked in Naziadministered ghettos during World War II,
ostensibly “of their own volition,” in
exchange for food or meager wages.
The payments paid out to the survivors,
which are based on a law known by its
German acronym, ZRBG, had been
available in a limited fashion since 1997,
with eligibility somewhat expanded in 2002.
However, a narrow interpretation of the
criteria led the German authorities to reject
61,000 of the 70,000 claims made under the
law.
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In 2009, rulings by the German Federal
Social Court allowed reconsideration of tens
of thousands of ghetto pension claims that
had been previously rejected. However, the
National Pension Board announced that even
if applicants were found to be entitled to a
pension, the payments would be backdated
only to January 1, 2005, or not longer than
four years back from when they applied.
The new deal means some 40,000 Holocaust
survivors who were approved for ghetto
pensions will be able to receive benefits
backdated to 1997. These survivors will be
receiving letters to this effect from the
German authorities.
These credits cannot be paid in the form of a
separate payment. Credits cover the first
twelve months, starting from the month
following the child’s birth.
For men or women with the requisite
qualifying minimum who:
•
•
•
•
Payments for Child Rearing
(Kindererziehungsleistungen)
Small monthly payments (about $30 per
month per child).
Child Rearing Pensions
This is an independent benefit that may be
paid separately or together with another
German Social Security pension.
For women with the requisite qualifying
minimum who:
•
•
•
•
Were born before January 1, 1921
and who
Had a child born in Germany (or
during residence abroad if the flight
was caused by Nazi persecution) and
The child was born before January
01, 1950 and
The child was personally raised by
the claimant.
Child Rearing Benefits
Certain periods of child rearing can count as
periods of insurance contribution, and can
thereby be used to increase an already
existing old age or widow/widower pension.
Were born after December 31, 1920
and who
Had a child who was born and raised
in Germany or
During residence or emigration
abroad if fleeing from Nazi
persecution until December 31,1949
and
The child was personally raised by
the claimant.
The “Ghetto Pension” and Child Rearing
payments are administered by the German
Social Insurance Authorities, known as the
DRN Deutsche Rentenversicherung Nord
and the BfA Bundesversicherungsanstalt für
Angestelle. A contact list is available by
emailing info@claimscon.org.
Important! Please also note that German
social security pensions to Holocaust
Survivors who worked during their
internment in a ghetto on territory occupied
or annexed by the German Reich (ghetto
pension and ZRBG pension) are not subject
to taxation in Germany. This means that
recipients of German social security
pensions for work in a ghetto do not need to
file a tax declaration in Germany. If you
received a letter from the ‘’Finanzamt
Neubrandenburg’’ (tax authority in
Germany) and you are recipient of only a
“ghetto pension’’ you do not need to reply to
the letter or fill in the form and send it back
to the tax authority in Germany.
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FRANCE
Compensation for Orphans of Deported
Parents - On July 13, 2000, the French
government passed a law under which
individuals whose father or mother was
deported from France as a result of antiJewish laws under the Nazis may be eligible
for compensation payments. This piece of
legislation is meant to compensate the
orphans of deported parents. Individuals are
eligible if they were under age 21, at the
time the parent was deported, and if the
parent died in deportation. Individuals who
lost one or both parents and who are already
receiving ongoing compensation payments
from Germany or Austria are not eligible.
Eligible applicants may decide whether they
wish to receive a one-time payment of FF
180,000 or monthly payments of FF 3,000.
There is no deadline to file claims.
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Conference. It provides one-time payments
of ATS 70,000 to each victim of Nazi
persecution in and from Austria. The
following claimants can be eligible for the
program: Austrian citizens on March 13,
1938; permanent residents from 1928 to
1938, or child of such; or child born in a
concentration (or concentration-like) camp
in Austria of parents of Austrian citizenship
or 10-year residents.
There is no deadline to apply for the ATS
70,000 payment.
For more information: www.claimscon.org
How to Apply: Ministère de la Défense,
Direction des statuts, des pensions et de la
réinsertion sociale, Quartier Lorge, Rue
Neuve de Bourg l'abbé BP 6140, 14064
Caen Cedex, France. Tel.: (33) 2-31-38-4521. Outside France: (33) 2-31-38-45-17.
Applicants residing abroad may also file
claims with the French embassy or consulate
in their country of residence.
AUSTRIAN NATIONAL FUND
This program is not administered by the
Claims Conference. You must contact the
Austrian National Fund directly:
Nationalfonds der Republik Oesterreich
Parliament, A-1017 Vienna, Austria
Tel: (43-1) 408-1263 or 408-1264
Fax: (43-1) 408-0389
sekretariat@nationalfonds.org
The National Fund was established in 1995,
following negotiations with the Claims
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Holocaust Drop-in Centre Members
Berek Ajzenberg
Eva Bass
Bettina Bayreuther
Jack Basch
Lev Bilich
Ted Bolgar
Henia Bronet
Joseph Fishmann
Riva Fleischman
Eric Fuchs
Yetti Glassman
Moe Gross
Josef Grunstein
Rose Grunstein
Eva Haber
Rasela Kalmanash
David Kimel
Rachel Kimel
Rachel Klein
Grunia Kohn
Suzana Kohn
Max Kulik
Karol Lang
Zahava Lang
Jack Laufer
Chaia Libstug
Devi Marcus
Catherine Matyas
Jeanette Moses
Clara Neuwald
Milka Schifman
Armin Schleichkorn
Ksenija Sredanovic
Stanley Schmerler
Aggie Strausz
Sylvia Weiner
Ethel Wishinski
Samuel Wishinski
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Long-time Drop-in Centre member, Armin
Schleichkorn, celebrated his 100th birthday
on June 5th. The group members, staff and
volunteers wished Armin a very happy 100th
birthday!
Also, Mazel Tov to Myra Giberovitch on the
publication of her book:
Recovering from Genocidal Trauma: An
Information and Practice Guide for
Working with Holocaust Survivors.
Myra documents twenty-five years of
working with survivors as a professional
social worker, researcher, educator,
community leader, and daughter of
Auschwitz survivors. This book is a
comprehensive guide to understanding
Holocaust survivors and responding to their
needs. In the words of a Drop-in member,
“Myra understands the soul of a survivor.”
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