After several years of protracted and difficult negotiations, the government of Hungary has released $5.6 million to the Claims Conference. These funds, which had been previously negotiated but not released, will be used for social welfare services and emergency assistance grants for needy survivors of Hungarian origin living outside of Hungary.
In order to secure the agreement to reinstate funding, which came to a halt in 2010 and was formally suspended in 2012 on spurious accusations from Hungary that the Claims Conference did not properly report on its use of the money, Greg Schneider, Arie Bucheister and I [had] frequent meetings with Hungarian officials. Throughout the past year, Greg and Arie have been working to urgently convey to the Hungarian government the desperate need to quickly resolve the situation. Because of survivors’ advanced age, it was a race against the clock to resume aid so survivors would not have to choose between food and medicine. [The two men] shuttled from New York to Budapest, Brussels, Berlin and Prague for a series of tense, high-level negotiations.
With the signing of the agreement, the Claims Conference can resume its distribution of funding to social services agencies that assist Hungarian Holocaust survivors with daily living. Additionally, the Hungarian government committed to continuing negotiations for the restitution of assets.
We very much appreciate the critical support of Hungarian State Secretary Janos Lazar from the Prime Minister’s office for his work in helping us reach this point. Although the agreement was anything but a foregone conclusion, its completion signifies the achievement of the main goal for the Claims Conference: namely, to help each needy Nazi victim live out their final years in dignity, at home with the help they need to do so.
Earlier this year, with the appointment of Mr. Lazar to the position of State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, a new tone was taken by the government, which seemed to change course from placing obstacles in the way of transferring the funds, to trying to work cooperatively to resolve any remaining issues. The Claims Conference is grateful for the critical assistance provided throughout the negotiations by the U.S. ambassador to Hungary, Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, who, along with Douglas Davidson, the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, and Israel’s ambassador to Hungary, Ilan Mor, conveyed to the Hungarian government the importance of its funding for survivors’ needs.
The funds derive from a 2007 WJRO agreement with Hungary in which the government agreed to pay $21 million over a five-year period to assist needy Holocaust survivors living in Hungary and abroad. The funds were channeled through the Jewish Heritage of Hungary Public Endowment (MAZSÖK), a restitution foundation in Hungary composed of local Hungarian Jews, governmental officials, and the WJRO. This money represented a down payment while a more comprehensive agreement was being negotiated for heirless, formerly Jewish-owned assets that had been confiscated during the Holocaust. This “down payment” was to be based on the model of the Hungarian Gold Train Settlement. Through 2010, the funds were transferred and immediately allocated.
The $5.6 million will be allocated through welfare service agencies around the world. In addition to these funds from the Hungarian government, the Claims Conference has made great strides recently in aiding Hungarian survivors. Through negotiations with the German government, the Claims Conference was able to reduce the time needed to have been in a ghetto from 18 to 3 months in order to be eligible for a pension. Among the largest group of beneficiaries of this liberalization in the criteria are survivors of the Budapest Ghetto, which existed for three months. The result has been that thousands of survivors of the Budapest Ghetto are now entitled to a pension for the first time.
[We] hope ..the agreement with the Hungarian government will pave the way for future discussions with Hungary that can lead to additional aid to and recognition of that country’s survivors.
By Julius Berman Chairman of the Board, The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. (edited for brevity)
