Germany announced earlier this week that it will compensate Algerian Jews persecuted by France’s Vichy regime. The decision, a first, entitles approximately 25,000 to a payment of $3,184, according to the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany.
Under the Nazi-collaborating French regime, Algerian Jews were barred from holding jobs in finance, education, and other sectors, were prohibited from owning their own businesses, and were ejected from public schools.
“When you have all these survivors around you and they’ve been acknowledged by Germany and you’re not, that experience they’re not validating is so central to your identity, that really creates another psychological trauma,” said Greg Schneider, the Claims Conference’s vice president. “For people who are very poor, [the money] obviously helps. But it’s also about the historical record in an era of fake news, and facts not being facts, and certainly Holocaust denial, which we think will only increase as survivors pass away.”
To distribute the funds, the Claims Conference set up registration centers all over France, where approximately 20,000 Algerians Jews currently reside. The first payment is anticipated to be made in the summer.
Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.
