According to new demographic research from the Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the global community is expected to lose 70% of its Holocaust survivors within the next decade, and 90% over the next 15 years. The findings will be unveiled at a major conference scheduled for Tuesday.
The report, titled Vanishing Witnesses: An Urgent Analysis of the Declining Population of Holocaust Survivors, estimates that by the year 2040, the number of survivors worldwide will dwindle to approximately 21,300.
Pinchas Gutter, one of the few remaining individuals who fought in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, reflected on the report’s sobering implications. “We have an important piece of history that only we hold and only we can tell. I hope in the time we have, we can impart the learning from the Holocaust so that the world will never again have to endure that level of hate,” said Gutter.
“I am a witness. Those of us witnesses still alive are working to make sure our testimonies are heard and preserved through any means possible. We are counting on this generation to hear us and future generations to carry our experiences forward so that the world does not forget.”
The release of the study coincides with Yom HaShoah, Israel’s national day of Holocaust remembrance, and comes just four months after the world marked eight decades since the liberation of Nazi death camps.
The population projections are based on data from 2022 and 2023 involving more than 250,000 survivors who were recipients of compensation, social services, or support through the Claims Conference.
Because survival rates vary by region, the decline in the survivor population will differ across countries. In Israel, for instance, 40% of Holocaust survivors are expected to pass away within the next five years. In the former Soviet Union, the decline is projected to be even steeper—about 50% over the same period.
The report points out that although Holocaust survivors have benefited from the broader global increase in life expectancy due to advances in healthcare, this longevity often comes with age-related challenges that require long-term medical and emotional support.
Nearly all of the remaining survivors were children during the Holocaust—either imprisoned in ghettos or concentration camps, or hidden to escape capture. Today, 98% of survivors are over the age of 80, and the median age is 87. The report also reveals that around 1,400 survivors have reached the milestone of 100 years or older.
Vladimir Shvetz, whose mother, Nechama Grossman, is 110 years old, shared that her life has been a living testament to resilience. “We must remember her story, remember the Holocaust, remember all the survivors, and learn from it so that her past does not become our future,” said Shvetz.
Malka Schmulovitz, a 109-year-old survivor, expressed her urgency in a public statement, saying her advanced age is a stark reminder that the opportunity to share these stories is fading quickly. “We all have a testimony that needs to be shared. We all want to be sure that this generation of young people and the ones that come after them, hear and understand what truly happened during the Holocaust; if only so that we do not see it repeated,” said Schmulovitz.
Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference, stressed that the diminishing number of living witnesses underscores the immediate need to amplify Holocaust education and remembrance.
“Now is the time to hear first-hand testimonies from survivors, invite them to speak in our classrooms, places of worship, and institutions. It is critical, not only for our youth but for people of all generations to hear and learn directly from Holocaust survivors,” said Taylor.
“This report is a stark reminder that our time is almost up, our survivors are leaving us, and this is the moment to hear their voices.”
{Matzav.com}