Survivors of National Socialist Persecution
© Atid Bamidbar
© Atid Bamidbar
People who survived the persecution by National Socialists are now very old. Many are single, have few financial resources and are dependent on external support. They still suffer physically and emotionally from their traumatic experiences to this day. Since its establishment, the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) has been committed to ensuring that survivors of National Socialist persecution have a better life and are able to grow old with dignity.
No one can be certain how many people persecuted by the National Socialists and imprisoned in concentration and extermination camps are still alive today. Comparable cross-national studies or statistics are still lacking.
Jews, Sinti:ze and Rom:nja in Germany and in the territories occupied by Germany (who were born before May 8, 1945), former concentration camp and ghetto prisoners and Soviet prisoners of war, former forced laborers (both those who were deported to Germany and those who had to perform forced labor in the respective country), survivors of the Leningrad Blockade or the burned villages, and the children of the persecuted who were born before liberation.
Most survivors of National Socialist persecution did not find it easy to regain their footing in the post-war period – either on the professional nor the social level. Very few have had the opportunity to come to terms with their traumatic experiences. There was little anything like psychological support. Furthermore, post-war society – above all in Germany – didn't want to know about the victims and their suffering. Often, as in the case of the Sinti and Roma, they were denied recognition as victims of National Socialism and consequently also denied compensation payments. Survivors of the Soviet forced laborers deported to Germany, for example, were treated with suspicion because they were considered traitors who had worked for the enemy. Instead of receiving support, they were subjected to more repression and persecution.
Survivors themselves, often out of shame that they – in contrast to their family members – had survived the persecution, also secluded themselves in silence and even isolated themselves from their surroundings. As a result, many survivors were left to fend for themselves, in many cases for decades. They were in urgent need of support, including material support, in order to build a new life for themselves. Severely traumatized, and in many cases robbed of their families and possessions by the National Socialists, many survivors had to start from scratch after 1945 and pay a high price for the suffering they had endured: Poverty, lack of social participation and loneliness.
Since its establishment in 2000, the EVZ Foundation has been committed to ensuring that survivors of National Socialist persecution have a better life and are able to grow old with dignity. In particular, it supports projects in Central and Eastern Europe and also in Israel which integrate survivors more at the social level and ensure that their basic needs are met. It promotes (model) projects for appropriate social and medical care and strengthens the intergenerational dialog. In addition, the EVZ Foundation works on the sociopolitical level to ensure that politics and society are aware of their special responsibility for the needs of survivors of National Socialist persecution and respond accordingly.
In Germany, survivors of National Socialist persecution often live in social isolation and under precarious material conditions. Most Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors had little chance of gaining a foothold in the German labor market after immigrating from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, so they relied on social support early on. Given their limited proficiency in German, they are often confronted with hostility or a lack of empathy in public life such as when dealing with authorities. Their quality of life can be improved by providing services that are individually tailored to their needs – such as meeting places offering a wide range of group activities, cultural events and intergenerational activities, as well as psychosocial counseling, home visits and day-to-day support.
In Poland and the Czech Republic, the Foundation has been working for many years with well-established project partners who are very familiar with survivors’ needs and have built up trusting relationships with them. Project activities mainly include home care to assist with day-to-day matters and in some cases nursing care, as well as encouraging elderly people to attend events and get together with the younger generation.
For some impressions of these activities, see the EVZ Foundation’s social media series #WeRememberEveryday.
Of the approximately 240,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors worldwide, around half live in Israel. Many survivors of Nazi persecution are now suffering the consequences of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. In southern Israel alone, more than 700 survivors had to be evacuated or live in shelters: they are in need of support. For this reason, the EVZ Foundation collaborates closely with its Israeli partners to help the survivors on the ground through emergency aid projects. With this support, our local partners are able to attend to the needs of NS survivors. Activities include organizing food parcels and emergency kits, and also arranging for volunteers and professionals to visit survivors in their homes.
The start of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022 caused a dramatic change in the lives of NS survivors in Ukraine. Numerous elderly and sick people from the areas directly under threat have had to give up everything and flee to safer places, whether in Ukraine or abroad. Survivors who lack mobility are exposed to daily shelling and suffer from supply shortages. Their difficulties are exacerbated by re-traumatization as they are forced to relive memories of the Second World War.
Immediately after the Russian invasion, the EVZ Foundation launched an emergency aid program to provide NS survivors and their families with essential humanitarian supplies. Social meeting places, home visits, medical care and leisure activities are organized wherever possible.
The survivors of the genocide against the Roma/Romnja require special support: given the ongoing prejudice and the poverty they suffer, they are more exposed to the devastating consequences of the war than other survivors. They receive humanitarian aid and help in accessing medical and social services. What is more, their life stories are shared and published, and care is taken to ensure that they enjoy a dignified status within their communities. Project partners also actively seek to ensure better educational opportunities and job prospects for survivors’ descendants, at the same time fostering in them a more in-depth understanding of their rights and their history.
Numerous survivors of National Socialism live in poverty in Russia, too. Not only are they subject to the indiscriminate exercise of state power, legislation was introduced in 2024 that bans the Foundation from providing support. Ongoing projects to support survivors of National Socialism continue to be funded in Belarus.
