German Holocaust reparations increase again this year, but plateau expected as survivors perish

The German government has agreed to allocate $1.5 billion in Holocaust reparations this year, setting a new record for how much the country is spending to support survivors. The increase from a total of $1.4 billion last year is due to a rise in the amount the government is paying to reimburse survivors’ medical expenses. But the sum paid directly to survivors has once again declined, reflecting the accelerating deaths of survivors. And the growth in the total package is expected to end soon as the number of living survivors plummets, according to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, known as the Claims Conference, the group that negotiates reparations with the German government. Earlier this year, the group said it had conducted a thorough review of remaining survivors, including those who have not received reparations through its efforts, and found that about 245,000 were alive, with the median age being 85. “We have negotiated a huge increase because survivors need more help. More survivors are coming forward and they are getting older and more disabled,” Gregg Schneider, the Claims Conference’s executive vice president, wrote in an email. “However, sadly, we project these needs plateauing as the cruelty of...