As Holocaust Survivors Dwindle, Israel & Global Jewish Communities Intensify Efforts to Preserve Memory & Provide Care

By: Fern Sidman

As Israel marks Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, a sobering milestone was revealed by the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs: just 120,000 Holocaust survivors remain living in the Jewish state, down 13,000 from last year, marking a nearly 10% decrease in a single year. The data, released ahead of the solemn national observance, sheds light on the urgent moral, social, and historical imperative to support survivors in their final years and preserve their fading testimonies.

As reported by the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) on Thursday, Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs Ya’akov Margi emphasized this dual responsibility in a statement issued Tuesday.

“This places a double responsibility on all of us: first, to intensify our efforts to provide the remaining survivors with a life of dignity and comprehensive emotional and social support; and second, to act decisively to document their stories, preserve their testimonies, and pass on their legacy to future generations,” Margi said, according to JNS.

The data provided by the ministry paints a portrait of a rapidly aging population, many of whom now face the final chapter of their lives amid new threats and displacement from recent conflicts. As JNS reported, of the 120,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel today, about 32% receive direct assistance from the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, which allocates an annual budget of 77 million shekels (approximately $21 million) toward survivor care services.

The urgency of this moment is highlighted by figures from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which on Tuesday published its latest demographic report titled “Vanishing Witnesses: An Urgent Analysis of the Declining Population of Holocaust Survivors.” The report estimates that just half of the 220,800 Holocaust survivors worldwide will still be alive in six years, with only 30% (about 66,250) expected to remain in 2035. By 2040, the global population of Holocaust survivors is projected to fall to just 22,080.

Today, half of the remaining survivors live in Israel, while the rest are dispersed across 90 countries. Remarkably, 1,400 survivors are now over 100 years old, representing just 0.6% of the total global survivor population, according to JNS’ report.

Beyond the natural toll of time, the JNS report highlighted how recent geopolitical events have added new trauma for many survivors.

Approximately 2,500 Holocaust survivors were directly affected by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel, which claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis and led to mass evacuations of border communities. Of these survivors, about 2,000 were forced to evacuate, reliving memories of displacement and persecution. The JNS report indicated that as of this week, 128 survivors remain displaced from their homes, mostly in northern communities that have endured ongoing attacks from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group operating from southern Lebanon.

The Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, according to the information in the JNS report, has responded by creating community and support structures for displaced elderly populations, many of whom have formed new social bonds in the hotels and temporary shelters where they were relocated.

“During the war, close ties were formed between elderly citizens from different communities who were evacuated to the same hotels—many of them Holocaust survivors—and for them, the ministry established community and social services in the evacuated hotels,” the ministry said in its statement.

To maintain and nurture these connections, the ministry has recently launched 21 new community centers — 19 in the north and two in the south — aimed at preserving the sense of community that emerged during the war and preventing social isolation among the elderly.

As the JNS report noted, beyond the immediate social and medical care needs, the fading survivor population also presents an existential challenge to Holocaust remembrance. First-hand witnesses to the Shoah are the last living link to one of humanity’s darkest chapters. Their personal testimonies are not only emotionally powerful but are also critical to countering Holocaust denial and distortion, which has been rising globally in recent years.

Government officials, educators, and Jewish organizations are now racing to document as many survivor stories as possible — through oral history projects, virtual reality archives, and international partnerships — to ensure their legacy is not lost.

In his remarks to JNS, Minister Margi did not shy away from the gravity of the moment: “In the past year, we have lost about 10% of Holocaust survivors in Israel,” he said. “Now, more than ever, we must act decisively—not only for their well-being but to safeguard the memory of who they were, what they endured, and what they built.”

The survivors of the Shoah, many of whom helped build the modern State of Israel from its earliest days, are now elderly, vulnerable, and increasingly alone. As Yom HaShoah is commemorated, the nation once again pauses not only to mourn the six million murdered in Europe, but also to honor the dwindling number who lived through it — and to renew the sacred promise that their lives, and their stories, will not be forgotten.

As the JNS report reminds us, we are the last generation with the privilege of learning directly from them — and the first generation responsible for remembering without them.