Budapest survivors eligible for compensation

By · August 7, 2008

Budapest Holocaust survivors are eligible for millions of dollars in compensation payments from Germany.

Germany agreed to release about $19 million in one-time payments to about 6,500 Jewish survivors of the Nazi occupation of the Hungarian capital, the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany announced Wednesday in Budapest.

To be eligible, the survivors must now live in Eastern Europe and may not have received payment from other funds.

The Claims Conference reached the agreement after years of negotiations with the German government. A one-time payment of $3,000 for each eligible survivor will be made through the organization’s Budapest Fund. The Claims Conference announced it is sending waiver forms required by Germany to nearly 6,000 survivors whom the organization believes may be eligible.

Others who believe they are eligible must apply by Aug. 6, 2009. To contact the Budapest office of the Claims Conference, call 36-1-374-3078; fax 36-1-374-3081; or e-mail .

The Claims Conference is the primary Jewish organization negotiating for compensation and restitution for Jewish victims of the Nazis.