Compensation payment for Kindertransport survivors
World Jewish Relief welcomes the announcement that child refugees who came to Britain on the Kindertransport will receive compensation payment from the German government. The announcement coincides with the 80th anniversary of the extraordinary rescue mission which saved the lives of almost 10,000 children from Nazi-Europe.
The Kindertransport Fund opened on 1st January 2019 and the application forms are now available here. The Claims Conference website also has details of criteria regarding who is eligible.
The fund is not only for Kinder who were sent to Britain, but includes the unaccompanied Jewish children sent to Sweden, Switzerland, France, the United States and Australia.
Kindertransport survivors who are eligible will receive a one-off payment of €2,500 – approximately £2,250. Even if they have previously received a compensation award they will still be able to be eligible for this payment and there is no income limit for applicants. The announcement comes after lengthy negotiations between the Claims Conference and the German government.
Application forms must be submitted by survivors and not their heirs. For help completing the forms you can contact the Association of Jewish Refugees on 020 8385 3070 or email enquiries@ajr.org.uk.
If you know someone who is a surviving Kind please let them know about this compensation payment. If you or a relative came on the Kindertransport and need documents relating to this, then we may have them in our archive.
Despite being a historic and important milestone, we recognise that no amount of money can compensate for the traumatic experience the children and their families endured. We are proud of the role we played, alongside other organisations, in helping bring the children to safety and the ongoing support, training and employment opportunities we provided them with as they established new lives in the UK.
The documents in our archive tell the stories of many of the refugees of all ages, who we helped bring to the UK throughout the 1930s and 40s. Please help us continue to spread the word about them.
World Jewish Relief Launches Urgent Appeal for Ukraine
World Jewish Relief, supported by the UK’s leading Jewish communal agencies, has launched a Ukraine Crisis Appeal in response to the rapidly deteriorating situation on the country’s border with Russia. The latest reports indicate that over 150,000 Russian troops surround Ukraine’s border, and forces have now been deployed inside Eastern Ukraine. The threat of war is very real, and for innocent civilians this could mean violence, mass displacement, the resurgence of past trauma, and basic food and fuel shortages.
We have worked in Ukraine since 1989 and today operate across the country through 29 local partners, supporting a primarily Jewish client group to find sustainable employment, and to meet the essential daily needs of older people so that they are safe, warm, and can live their final years with dignity. Last year our programmes reached 13,000 people across the country.
For the vulnerable and older people we support in Ukraine, including a generation of Holocaust survivors who have lived through decades of conflict and instability, the outbreak of war would be disastrous. They are already feeling the effects of rising tensions, spiraling utility bills and soaring living costs. People are trying to flee the conflict zone, but for the oldest and most vulnerable community members this is not an option.
What is happening in Ukraine?
In 2014, war broke out in Eastern Ukraine, killing more than 14,000 people over an 8 year period and displacing more than 1.5 million people. The conflict zone encompasses the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and this is where the focus of tension between Russia and Ukraine is today.
When war in Ukraine broke out in 2012, we were there for those worst affected. We supported thousands of people who had to flee their homes with food, and support finding housing and rebuilding their livelihoods, and assisted people in the conflict zone who were not able to flee. With the help of the UK Jewish community, we will be there again, meeting urgent humanitarian needs in the region.
Now, we are in close contact with our local partners on the ground and will ensure that we are responding to the most urgent needs as the crisis in Ukraine progresses. We will prioritise food, cash, medical, material and psychological support for our existing client group and be ready to assist those who are forced to flee their homes.