Germany passed a Ghetto Pension Law in 2002 that would give a small amount of money to Jews who held steady jobs in concentration camps, in order to “close a gap in the country’s Nazi-era compensation.” However, over 90 percent of applicants are being denied, and each day more and more Holocaust survivors are dying off without receiving a cent. The full article can be viewed here.
Obviously, the German government is trying to lessen the amount of money required for reparations as much as possible by waiting for most of the applicants to perish. This is further proven by the fact that the powers that be are using inappropriate questionnaires to check the histories of the applicants. Admittedly, the debt Germany owes to the Jewish population is insurmountable; however, progressive steps should be taken to aide the lives of any Holocaust survivors. These steps should not just include making pension plans, but also carrying them out.
