In addition to the individual payments to former victims of National Socialism, in accordance with the Foundation Law funds were also provided for humanitarian programmes.

These included a humanitarian fund for the benefit of Jewish victims of National Socialist persecution at JCC, an assistance programme at IOM for Sinti und Roma victims of National Socialist persecution, and humanitarian payments from the ICHEIC “Insurance Programme”.

The payments made on the grounds of forced labour, other personal injuries and property losses took into account the fate suffered, but not the present social situation of the recipients. The humanitarian programmes aimed to ensure that in particular the needy former victims of National Socialism received and will continue to receive assistance.

With the conclusion of the payments and expiry of the claim period, the partner organisations were left with some funds that had been earmarked for individual payments, but that could not be disbursed. This may, for instance, have been due to the fact that applicants died without leaving heirs, or moved elsewhere and could no longer be reached. The partner organisations are now using these funds that could not be paid out for humanitarian projects too.

The residual funds from payments programmes to former forced labourers together with non-expended administrative funds at the Foundation and partner organisations are being channelled into humanitarian and medical projects for the benefit of particularly needy victims of National Socialism.

In 2005 and 2006, interest accruing to the Federal Foundation and a private donation of EUR 10 million was allocated to humanitarian projects operated by partner organisations, thereby benefiting more than 20,000 victims of National Socialism. The remaining funds will enable work to continue until mid-2008 and are expected to relieve the hardships experienced by at least another 100,000 people.

Within the framework of the humanitarian projects, particularly needy persons or victims of National Socialism who are in poor health can benefit from therapeutic stays at health clinics, rehabilitation measures or surgical operations. Some partner organisations are using these residual funds to award social subsidies or to reimburse the cost of medicines. These small-scale assistance measures are a gesture of recognition for the severe persecution many of these victims experienced under National Socialist and for the suffering this caused. Particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, where the elderly often live in straitened circumstances and receive little assistance through existing healthcare systems, such humanitarian assistance is often a matter of urgency.

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