When a person commits a crime against someone else, society expects the perpetrator to compensate the wider society โ for instance, by going to prison. But, whatโs usually missing is compensation for the actual victim of the crime. So, if your car is stolen, for example, the thief will not provide you with a new vehicle.
This failure of societyโs systems has been addressed to some extent through the reparations process for survivors of the Holocaust. In addition to the horrors lived through during the War years and the loss of close family members, hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes, their livelihoods, their businesses, valuable assets โ and the opportunity to study towards a career of their choice.
This has been recognised by the German government, which has acknowledged the countryโs role as the instigator of the crimes against humanity perpetrated against Europeโs Jews. And, while not all survivors of this devastating period in our history have received compensation, substantial amounts of money have been paid over, geared to improve the quality of life of the survivors and, in some instances, of their descendants.
The impact of the legislation
Thousands of survivors of the Holocaust have received monetary compensation, including many who continue to receive pensions from the German state.
According to Cape Townโs Mary Kluk, Vice President of the World Jewish Congress, who sits on the leadership council of the Claims Conference, โThe fight for compensation continues on a daily basis. In fact, the Claims Conference negotiates every year with the German government to secure additional funding. Although the number of survivors world-wide has dwindled dramatically because of age, this is the period of significant need for many of the survivors. Because of their age and health conditions (some of which are directly related to their wartime experiences), the Claims Conference has a stronger focus now on the cost of care for the elderly survivors than in the past.โ
Reparations for Holocaust survivors living in Cape Town
A number of Holocaust survivors living in Cape Town received reparations payments from the German government, thanks to the assistance provided by the Board of Deputies from the 1950s onwards. Gwynne Robins, who worked for the Board in earlier times, was involved in the various initiatives to provide financial relief to survivors.
Gwynne recalls the role played by the late Dr Erwin Spiro, a German Jewish judge who settled in Cape Town in 1936 as a refugee from Nazi Germany. โHe devoted himself to securing pensions for our survivors as soon as they became available,โ she explains. Dr Spiro regarded his work relating to securing reparations as a moral obligation, and did not charge for the legal work he undertook on behalf of the survivors.
Each time a new category of funding became available, Gwynne would advertise it in the Cape Jewish Chronicle, so that survivors could contact her and find out about applying. Over the years and under the different compensation funds, all the applications were successful. It was, however, tragic that, in one case, a survivor from Greece passed away just two weeks before the first monies were due for payment to her.
According to Gwynne, โThe money was paid in Euros and it was fairly substantial when converted to Rands. In some cases, it was sufficient to augment the individualโs living cost, although it does not compensate for the losses and suffering the people have undergone.โ
Legislative and other initiatives geared to provide reparations
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