The number of survivors of the Holocaust is dwindling every day. There are well fewer than 500,000 still alive today who managed to survive the camps, the mobile units, and the rest of the horrific scourge that swept Europe.
Germany, meanwhile, has agreed to extend another payout to those still living:
The organization that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis said Thursday that Germany has agreed to extend another $1.4 billion (1.29 billion euros) overall for Holocaust survivors around the globe for the coming year.
To be sure, though $1.4 billion sounds like a lot, it's actually not that much at all per survivor, even though there aren't a whole lot of them left. The bulk of that payout will be in the form of "$888.9 million to provide home care and supportive services" for ailing Holocaust victims.
Another $175 million will go towards payouts to "more than 128,000 Holocaust survivors globally." Over the last 70 years, the German government has shelled out about $90 billion to survivors.
As one negotiator notes, every payout these days represents "a near-last opportunity to ensure survivors of the Holocaust are receiving some measure of justice and a chance at the dignity that was taken from them in their youth."
