Supporting Goal of Ensuring All Holocaust Victims Live with Dignity, Comfort, and Security

Floor Speech

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Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution, which urges the German government to ensure that Holocaust victims live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining years. Today there are approximately 500,000 Holocaust survivors living around the world. Within the next decade, it is estimated at least 50 percent of them will pass away. The 300 welfare agencies serving Holocaust victims worldwide desperately need support to help the most isolated, disabled, and vulnerable survivors receive critical services.

A Holocaust survivor in South Florida, who is 95 and a widower, sadly illustrates this need. He survived a Hungarian forced labor battalion and two concentration camps, Mauthausen and Gunskirchen. He now requires assistance with everyday activities including bathing, dressing, and meal preparation. He receives a total of 32 hours a week of home care funded by the Claims Conference and the U.S. government. He has unmet needs of 50 hours per week and would greatly benefit from increased funding from the German Government.

I urge support for this critical resolution to allow Holocaust survivors to live their remaining years with dignity.

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