54,755 euros for the Frankfurt meeting point

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lya Daboosh, Daniela Birkenfeld, Aron Schuster, Esther Petri-Adiel and Uwe Becker
Photo: City of Frankfurt

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“The Jewish community in Frankfurt am Main is one of the largest and liveliest in Germany today. In addition to a strong and diverse commitment to their community, the Central Welfare Office for Jews in Germany takes on many social and societal tasks. The ‘Treffpunkt’ project counteracts the social isolation of older Frankfurters and provides a wide range of target group-specific support for survivors of the Shoah and their relatives. The city of Frankfurt am Main does its part to support the committed work of the association, ”says Mayor and Church Director Uwe Becker. “In addition to the annual subsidy, the necessary air conditioning for the meeting point rooms can also be subsidized this year. This means that even on hot summer days, it is now possible for visitors to meet on site and take advantage of what is on offer at the meeting point. “

In 2002, the Central Welfare Office of Jews in Germany (ZWST) set up a psychosocial center for survivors of the Shoah and their families in Frankfurt in order to respond to increasing supply and care deficits and to develop concepts that can above all improve outpatient care and support . The center is divided into different segments, which are grouped around low-threshold offers such as a weekly café, lectures and courses and primarily aim to counteract social isolation in old age while taking into account the needs of visitors.

The “Meeting Point” project for survivors of the Shoah and their families in Frankfurt am Main is currently being financed by the Remembrance, Responsibility, Future Foundation (EVZ) as well as donations and own funds as well as an annual grant of 40,000 euros from the City of Frankfurt am Main granted to the “Treffpunkt” project since 2017. The social affairs department and the church department also provide 14,755 euros for the installation of a high-performance air conditioning system.

The ZWST is in contact with around 190 Shoah survivors in the Rhine-Main area. “Meeting people of the same age who have experienced something similar to what you yourself and whom you don’t have to explain yourself is very valuable,” says Daniela Birkenfeld, Head of Social Affairs. At the meeting point there is a sensitive team of supervisors as well as legal and psychological support. There is a weekly coffee afternoon, as well as lectures, reading circles, gymnastics, memory training and excursions. “The children of the survivors also ‘inherited’ trauma, the Holocaust is omnipresent in their lives too – they have no grandparents, no uncles or aunts, they live with the grief of their parents. As the city of Frankfurt, we have a responsibility to support this meeting point, which has become a second home for some. “

“For people who had to endure the inhuman extermination machinery of the National Socialists in body and soul and who carry this testimony with them to this day, safe exchange and meeting places are of inestimable value. For survivors of the Shoah, the Frankfurt meeting point is such an institution, a contact point, a safe space. Especially after the long months of pandemic, which many very old people had to spend in isolation, there is no substitute for direct contact with one another. The ZWST is very grateful to the city of Frankfurt as the operator of the psychosocial contact and meeting places for Shoah survivors for the generous support in the renovation measures, which guarantee the visitors of the meeting point a comfortable togetherness also in the future. Special thanks go to Mayor Uwe Becker and City Councilor Daniela Birkenfeld for their commitment, ”says Aron Schuster from the ZWST.

After a long pandemic-related closure of the meeting point and a restructuring, which was made possible by large voluntary commitment with corona-compliant offers for senior citizens, the meeting point is now open again. (ffm)

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