Unstinting commitment to survivors

As the name indicates, the Conference for Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference, as it’s generally known) was established to facilitate the process of restitution and compensation for victims of the Holocaust. For many thousands of elderly survivors, particularly in the former Soviet Union, it’s a critical source of support. These needs have only been intensified by the ongoing destructive impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

From the outset, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has represented our community on this body, assuming responsibility for all communication, liaison, and administration of healthcare and support on behalf of the Claims Conference. SAJBD Gauteng Chairperson Harold Jacobs represents South Africa on this body, while in 2020, our national vice-president, Mary Kluk, was elected to serve in her own right on the leadership council. Both participated in this year’s annual board meeting recently held in New York, with Mary attending in person.

The complexity of the Claims Conference’s work is underscored by how rather than being presented with a fixed annual sum to distribute, it’s required on an annual basis to negotiate with the German government over what the upcoming year’s allocation will be. How this is determined is dependent on the ever-changing needs and circumstances of the recipients, needs that are increasing and becoming more critical with each passing year. Alongside the urgency to negotiate for survivor care and compensation from a purely practical point of view, there’s a powerful moral dimension as well. As Claims Conference Executive Vice-Chairperson Greg Schneider put it, “Each negotiation represents a near-last opportunity to deliver a measure of justice to survivors, provide them dignity in their final days, and secure their testimonies and legacy as lessons for the future”.

The results of this year’s negotiations were exceptionally positive, with a significant additional sum in direct compensation and social-welfare services for survivors being granted. Another positive outcome was an increase in the allocation for Holocaust education, the need for which is only increasing as the number of first-hand witnesses declines.

Mary heads up the Durban Holocaust & Genocide Centre, so this is something particularly close to her heart. She was further inspired to see first-hand the unstinting commitment of those who work for the Claims Conference, from her colleagues at the forefront of leading the organisation to those dedicated staff members at the coal face. In his report, Schneider paid tribute to those “ordinary” servants of the organisation, among them those connected with member organisations from across the conference. It’s they who meticulously compile the required data, help survivors through the complex and arduous process of putting in claims under the various funds, and refine presentations to the German government to achieve the best possible outcomes. Over many years, Shirley Beagle has carried out this task on behalf of the SAJBD with the utmost skill and dedication. Largely, though by no means solely for this reason, she was presented with the Eric Samson Mendel Kaplan Communal Service Award at the SAJBD’s 2017 national conference. Mary was therefore extremely proud to be told how much she is esteemed and valued by the Claims Conference staff who work with her. I commend and thank Shirley, as I do Mary, Harold, and all those other representatives of the Board past and present who have made South African Jewry such a meaningful, contributing part of this exceptionally important global Jewish organisation.

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