Social welfare of Holocaust survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution

Recognizing that Holocaust (Shoah) survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution, including those who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust (Shoah) as small and helpless children, suffered unprecedented physical and emotional trauma during their ordeal. Scientific studies document that these experiences frequently result in heightened damage to health, particularly in old age, therefore it is a priority on dealing with their social welfare needs in their lifetimes. It is unacceptable that those who suffered so greatly during the earlier part of their lives should live under impoverished circumstance at the end. Holocaust (Shoah) survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution have today reached an advanced age and that they have special medical and health needs. Every effort should be made to address in their respective states the social welfare needs of the most vulnerable elderly victims of Nazi persecution – such as hunger relief, medicine and homecare as required, as well as measures that will encourage intergenerational contact and allow them to overcome their social isolation. These steps will enable them to live in dignity in the years to come.

In the field of welfare for victims of Nazism, ESLI organized a number of international events and commissioned three studies. International Conference on Social Welfare for Holocaust Survivors and Other Victims of Nazi Persecution is worth mentioning. It took place in Prague in May 2015 and was attended by governmental representatives from over forty Terezin Declaration countries, international experts and Holocaust survivors. The conference brought together policy makers and representatives of NGOs who provide care to victims of Nazism on the daily level, thus have a deep knowledge of needs of those who survived Shoah. During the Conference, ESLI launched the Social Welfare Database mapping what kind of services are provided by states to victims of Nazism in all 47 Terezin Declaration countries.

Besides, ESLI organized two seminars on welfare at the European Parliament in order to bring this utmost important topic on the European level. Seminars were successful and well attended, however ESLI failed to include welfare of victims of Nazism into the European agenda as social issues are in a competence of national governments and the European Union doesn’t interfere.

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Holocaust survivors' welfare today

ESLI's welfare studies, conference papers and database describe conditions up to 2017. The needs they documented have since grown more urgent. According to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), about 196,600 Jewish Holocaust survivors were alive worldwide in January 2026, down from about 220,000 a year earlier. Their median age was 87. About half lived in Israel, about 18 percent in North America, about 17 percent in Western Europe and about 11 percent in the former Soviet Union. Almost all of them were children during the Holocaust. A large majority receive, or have recently received, social welfare services, and tens of thousands depend on help with basic needs such as food, medicine and home care. The Terezin Declaration named these needs in 2009.

That is why the questions ESLI asked in 2015 still matter. What does each state provide to survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution? How is support funded? How well do state services and non-governmental providers work together? The Social Welfare Database and the 2015 International Welfare Conference materials, including the panels on welfare mechanisms across the 47 countries and current needs and future challenges, remain a useful baseline for comparing how support has changed since then.

Frequently asked questions

What did the Terezin Declaration say about survivors' welfare?

It stated that it is unacceptable for those who suffered so greatly to live in poverty at the end of their lives. It called on states to address the social welfare needs of the most vulnerable elderly victims of Nazi persecution, including hunger relief, medicine and home care, and to help them overcome social isolation.

What is the ESLI Social Welfare Database?

It was a comparative database, launched at the May 2015 conference in Prague and based on governmental questionnaires. It mapped the pensions, health care and social services that each Terezin Declaration country provided to Holocaust survivors and other victims of Nazism.

Where can survivors get help today?

This archive does not provide services. Survivors and their families should contact national social services or organisations such as the Claims Conference and local Jewish community welfare providers.