Technology may change, but an organization that provides financial assistance for Holocaust survivors has maintained a name that's true to its origin. The Blue Card, which was founded in 1934 by the German Jewish community after Hitler came to power, began keeping track of their financial contributions on blue cards. For over seven decades - since 1940 exclusively in the United States - they have been providing money for Holocaust survivors in need.
One 75 year old woman who is a recipient of this money (I'll call her Sarah)
said that when she first Came to The Blue Card around 15 years ago she liked
the fact that she "didn't have to approach (the organization) with a begging cup in hand." She
found someone working there who was enormously energetic.
Up until then, she had been so disappointed in her efforts to get help. Sarah,
who had spent the war hiding and in slave labor in and around Bremen, described
going to Blue Card as absolutely transforming. She added, "I saw other people like me." When
she went to the organization, Sarah was no longer working. The Blue Card
provided a stipend for the Jewish holidays, and later she began receiving
$100 a month, which goes on to this day (each year she needs to reapply).
"I think Blue Card is wonderful," Sarah said. "It's a sense that somebody gives a damn, and frankly there isn't a whole lot of that around." She added that Survivors are at an age now where they "need
more help."
One man, who was in Budapest during the war (I'll call him Louis), needed
help when he passed 60 years old and found it difficult to get a job. "My income was shabby," he said. "I didn't have enough to pay the rent." Louis went to Jewish organizations that he said would ''help me once." Then he got involved with The Blue Card. "I told them my story," he said. "I
am a Holocaust survivor and can't find a job. I have to survive."
Louis brought in his papers, and Blue Card said they could give him $100
a month. ''It saved my life," he said.
According to Elie Rubinstein, executive director of The Blue Card (New York City-based), the organization provides financial assistance to Holocaust survivors based on their needs. There are three kinds of assistance offered:
1) Emergency cash assistance - Some examples would be a person needing money for dental care or a hearing aid, or he/she is in danger of being evicted from his/her apartment.
2) Monthly assistance (as Sarah and Louis receive).
3) Financial assistance for the Jewish holidays.
How can survivors find out if they are eligible for The Blue Card financial assistance?
They can go to a local Jewish social service agency anywhere in the United States and have a financial assessment done. This could lead to a referral being made to The Blue Card.
For more information on how you or someone you know could be eligible for The Blue Card, or if you want to make a donation, call the organization at (212) 239-2251.