70th anniversary of the Luxembourg Agreements – Holocaust reparations
At the invitation of the German Federal Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (the Claims Conference) joined the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz and Israel’s minister for Social Equality, Meirav Cohen in Berlin to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Luxembourg Agreements.
Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor and Germany Minister of Finance Christian Lindner signing the negotiations agreement Photo: Euhda Swed
On September 10, 1952, these groundbreaking agreements for compensation to Jewish survivors of the Nazi regime and to the State of Israel were the first-ever agreement between a defeated country and the civilians they persecuted.
The agreement in 1952 saw the German Government give DM450 milli0n to survivors.
Speaking of the importance of the commemoration ceremony, Claims Conference Chief Negotiator Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat noted, “Never before in human history has the defeated power paid compensation to the civilians for losses and suffering. It is a monumental achievement which shows the commitment of the German people to recognise the evils of their former Nazi society.”
The landmark agreements were negotiated and ultimately agreed to between the newly formed State of Israel, the Federal Republic of Germany as the legal successor to the German Reich, and the Claims Conference, which was formed by 23 major global Jewish organisations to negotiate on behalf of the world’s Holocaust survivors. The agreements created the basis for all subsequent compensations for Nazi persecution.
The 1952 meeting with Chancellor Adenauer signing Photo: The Claims ConferenceAden
Today, the three signatory parties to the historic agreements were represented at a ceremony in Berlin at the Jewish Museum. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will spoke of the importance of the agreements, and the special responsibility Germany bears for the past, the present, and for the future.
Scholz said: “The Luxembourg Agreements were fundamental and led to financial compensation in the amount of more than €80 billion Germany has paid by the end of 2021. The payments to survivors and the home care program are very close to our heart, and recently we see the increasing importance of Holocaust education.”
Claims Conference Executive Vice President Greg Schneider said: “It took truly great and far-sighted leadership to sit down at the table only a few years after the Holocaust and negotiate the unimaginable. They laid the groundwork for the results we are announcing today of more than $1.2 billion in 2023 for compensation and social welfare services for Holocaust survivors.”
Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor remarked: “These agreements laid the groundwork for compensation and restitution for those survivors who had lost everything and continue to serve as the foundation for the ongoing negotiations on behalf of the estimated 280,00 Holocaust survivors living around the world. The next time we all gather in a room together like this, we may be living in a world without survivors – a world where there will not be Holocaust survivors to tell their own stories, in their own words. I have confidence, every confidence that this leadership of Germany, which may be the last to shape the closing chapter for those who survived the unimaginable, will fulfil the vision that those inspiring leaders commenced 70 years ago.”
Claims Conference Chief Negotiator Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat told the gathering: “We have come far as partners with the Federal Republic of Germany, It is impossible to not to feel the awe of continuing a revolutionary process. You have shown the world how to make partial amends through restitution, education, and memorials for the most ghastly crime in human history.”
