Hungary reportedly intends to raise pensions to Holocaust survivors by 50 percent in 2013, the 70th anniversary of the extermination of Hungarian Jewry.

The increase in pensions will affect about 8,000 Holocaust survivors, who can expect to see more money as early as Jan. 1, according to the news site Hungary Around the Clock. Another 50 percent increase above the payments distributed in 2012 is planned for Jan. 1, 2014.

The report also said that the Hungarian cabinet will form a national Holocaust 2014 Memorial Commission to be run by Janos Lazar, the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Hungarian and German Nazi troops deported some 400,000 Jews from Hungary to Auschwitz in 1944.

The Claims Conference, an international body that represents world Jewry in compensation talks over Holocaust-era crimes, accused Hungary’s government in August of “depriving” Holocaust survivors through “disgraceful” and “deceitful tactics.”

The allegations came after Budapest demanded that the Claims Conference “return” $12.6 million to Hungary’s treasury because of what it called failure to properly report who received the money.

Over the past few months, the Hungarian government has come under international pressure to curb anti-Semitic expression in parliament, mainly by politicians for the ultranationalist Jobbik party.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount