© Kai Gembler/ Tobias Bruns
Alongside Central and Eastern Europe, Israel is a priority country for the EVZ Foundation's funded activities. Since Hamas's terrorist attacks on 7 October 2023, Israeli civil society has provided significant support to terror survivors and internally displaced persons, assisted Shoah survivors and their families, and promoted peaceful coexistence. Furthermore, for over 20 years, the EVZ Foundation has supported international youth education initiatives in collaboration with local Israeli partner organisations.
Image from the documentary project "Leben nach dem Überleben", developed together by AMCHA Germany and photographer Helena Schätzle
© Schätzle/laif - Documentary project "Leben nach dem Überleben"
The Commitment to survivors of National Socialist persecution funding programme, which operates in Germany and Israel, supports survivors as they age by providing psychological, physical and social stability and dignity. It enables them to take part in social life and protects them from isolation. The projects honour the survivors, celebrating their biographies, life achievements, and current contributions to society. Funding also strengthens the structures and capacities of civil society organisations. This enables the organisations to meet the evolving needs of elderly survivors and their relatives, while also empowering the descendants of survivors and volunteers to continue their social commitment.
Many survivors of Nazi persecution are suffering the consequences of the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023. In southern Israel alone, over 700 survivors have been partially evacuated or are living in shelters and require urgent assistance. The EVZ Foundation is working closely with Israeli partners to provide emergency aid to the survivors. The foundation has made an additional €100,000 available for this purpose. With this support, JDC-ESHEL and the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims, among others, have been able to take care of the needs of Nazi survivors on the ground. This included organising food parcels, emergency kits and home visits by volunteers and professional staff.
© Atid Bamidbar
Atid Bamidbar facilitates intergenerational encounters and raises awareness of the life stories of Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors in Israel. The project trains multipliers, such as teachers, youth group leaders, and senior counsellors; cooperates with schools; and uses creative initiatives to raise awareness of the concerns of Jews from the Soviet Union and bring their little-known narratives into society.
© The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims
The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims has long been committed to combating the loneliness experienced by Holocaust survivors in Israel. Volunteers foster a sense of belonging and participation by making regular visits, providing everyday support, and organizing joint activities. They also reach out to socially isolated survivors - and bring them flowers.
© Aviv for Holocaust Survivors
Aviv for Holocaust Survivor improves the living conditions and social participation of Holocaust survivors and their relatives by offering free advice and legal assistance. A 24-hour telephone hotline is available for concerns and requests.
© Stiftung EVZ
In May 2023, our colleague Christa Meyer-Prochnow traveled to Israel to meet with our project partners. From October 24-28, 2022, Anette Schavan, the chair of the board of trustees; Dr. Andrea Despot and Jakob Meyer, members of the executive board; and Mascha Wilke, a member of the executive board team, were also guests in Israel. The team visited many partners, curators, and projects. Learn more about our on-site commitment.
OFEK e.V. offers services such as psychological support, counseling after anti-Semitic incidents, and safe spaces. You can contact OFEK e.V. nationwide at +49 800 664 52 68 or +49 176 45875532. Current services and office hours can be found here.
Hebrew speakers can reach the free Matan Hotline daily at 0800-0001642. OFEK e.V. offers the hotline in collaboration with the The Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany (ZWST) and the Israeli Community in Europe.
The funding programme YOUNG PEOPLE remember international encourages young people to engage critically with history. Funding is provided to memorial sites, educational institutions, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Germany, Europe, and Israel. The programme focuses on transnational learning at historical sites of Nazi persecution and extermination, as well as on questions of European cultures of remembrance.
In our topic dossier on international youth education work, you will find background information on our support for engagement and youth exchange - including in Israel. How can we reach young people? Read about the experiences and findings from over 20 years of educational work that we have carried out together with our partner organizations.
The EVZ Foundation promotes networking and on-site research. For instance, the Yad Vashem Next Generation project has digitised the globally significant Holocaust archive and encouraged international collaboration among experts. The platform makes contemporary testimonies and educational materials globally accessible, and a network of archivists from eleven countries has been formed to discuss the educational use of the sources. This project strengthens fact-based learning through digital historical education in the long term.
The transnational oral history project The impact of reparations - a European history of experience is the first to generate academically robust knowledge concerning the effects of German 'reparations' on survivors and their relatives. This knowledge is based on video interviews containing statements from survivors and/or their descendants from five countries: Germany, Poland, Israel, Belgium, and the former Soviet Union, with a particular focus on Ukraine. Students from Berlin and Kiryat Shmona will discuss the project's findings at a summer school, exchange ideas with survivors, and write their theses. Touro University Berlin is carrying out the project as part of the Education Agenda NS-Injustice, and it offers the only Holocaust Master's degree course in Germany.
In this interview, Maja Sojref, managing director of NIF, explains how to build bridges between German and Israeli civil societies and what a Jewish-Arab partnership could look like during wartime.
Journalist and activist Shir Nosatzki, co-founder of initiative "Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?" explains how a Jewish-Arab aid center was swiftly established following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, despite the challenges currently facing Israeli civil society.
In our interview series "Three Questions for ..." project partners report what they think selected funding approaches achieve - and provide background information on current topics.
The Board of Trustees of the EVZ Foundation condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023. We are deeply shocked by this largest mass murder of Jewish people since the Shoah. Our thoughts are with all Israelis, our Israeli project partners and friends. We mourn for those who have lost their lives and remember the many injured and kidnapped children, women and men. The EVZ Foundation stands firmly by the democratic state of Israel and its civil society.
We are deeply concerned by the massive worldwide increase in antisemitic hatred and violence. 85 years after Reichspogromnacht, Jews are once again not safe in Germany. We will not accept this, but are actively committed to combating antisemitism with our programs and projects. In addition to imparting knowledge and strengthening skills, we focus on solidarity and empathy. The memory of National Socialist victims commands us to stand up for Jewish life in the midst of our society and against antisemitism in any form and all parts of society.
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