Germany to pay former Nazi ghetto laborers one-time grant

The German government decided on Wednesday to give a one-time grant to Holocaust survivors who endured forced labor in World War II ghettos. Some 30,000 Israeli survivors are expected to receive the grant, amounting to 2,000 euros. In discussions held in recent weeks in Israel between German finance ministry officials and Pensioners Affairs Minister Raffi Eitan, the government rejected Germany's offer to pay former forced laborers 1,200 euros each, demanding they increase the offer. According to German sources, the increase came as a result of the direct interference of Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The payment agreed today is not compensation for being interned in ghettos... it's a humanitarian gesture," government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told a regular government news conference in Berlin. Berlin's decision applies to some 64,000 ghetto survivors who have not been compensated by German insurance companies for their work during the Holocaust, as was required under a 2002 law. The grant recipients will include former forced laborers who have not yet received payment from the Holocaust Memorial Fund, which was established in order to compensate forced laborers. Germany said applications could be sent immediately to Germany's Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues (BADV) in Bonn.