Lessons Learned?
Continued from preceding page
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ki and others believe there are
probably twice as many Jews in
the area than are officially reg-
istered. Not wanting to pay the
tax is one reason for disaffilia-
tion, he says. There are also
those whose Jewish identity is
minimal.
The Munich Jewish commu-
nity was founded after the war
by Polish and German survivors.
Of the 250,000 displaced people
who were in Bavaria after the
war, only 10,000 stayed. Mr.
Rakowski's family remained be-
, cause his father had tuberculo-
sis and could not obtain a U.S.
visa. "Very few stayed because
they wanted," he says.
"I was born in 1947, raised
as a Jew living in Germany, sit-
ting on their suitcases."
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cated by the Israeli government,
which claimed the Russian Jews •
were not really refugees, as they
had Israel to go to.
The head of the Jewish com-
munity in Berlin, Heinz Galin-
ski, asked the German
government to let the Jews stay.
A Holocaust survivor, Mr. Galin- •
ski said no German should dare
to send away Russian Jews by
official measures.
During the debate, Mr.
Rakowski and the Jewish com-
munity continued to integrate
the newcomers. For Mr.
Rakowski, the son of displaced
persons, receiving the Russians f.
was a remarkable event.
"For me it was unbelievable
that I should be in a position to cl
welcome Jewish refugees from 'D
another country, consideri-
Jews were escaping GermL
during the war."
But in the end, so as not to
hurt relations with Israel, the lc)
German government changed
policy and would not allow more
Russian Jews to stay on refug9e
status.
Since reunification,
Rakowski says, things between
the Jewish community and tilt
government have indeed
changed. When the Jew:
protested Chancellor Kohl's vii
it with Austrian President Kur..
Waldheim, Mr. Kohl's response
was unprecedented. (He told the 1,
Jews "I'll decide who I meet,"
and lambasted them for their op-
position to reunification.)
Mr. Rakowski says such
comments would not have hap-
pened two years ago. "It was the
first time the German Chancel-
lor should present such a view
in public," he says.
There is, he says, a tendency
to the right, especially in the for-
mer GDR, where xenophobia is
high. Values have changed, he
believes.
"Before, it was important to
show this was a democracy. Now
it's not of interest to the Bonn
government. Its the first time
the chancellor would lash out
against the Jewish community
because he feels he has the peo-
ple behind him. And he gets
more sympathy because they
don't want to be reminded of the
past."
Finally, Mr. Rakowski points
out, world politics has a serious .
effect on German politics. "Two
weeks before [the meeting with
Waldheim], Mr. Kohl was in
Washington, when Mr. Bush
and Mr. Baker were bashing IP ,
rael. One week later Mr. Ko! -
bashes the Jews. You can wati
the diminishing influence of GE , )f
man and American Jews."
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and economic growth helped
normalize life for the Jews who
remained. Twenty years ago
young people might have head-
ed for Israel or the States to com-
plete their education; today they
just as likely travel in Europe or
stay in Germany.
In fact, partly due to its
strong economy, Germany re-
cently has been a lure for Russ-
ian Jews.
Vitali Greenwald, 51, came
to Munich from Russia about a
year ago. A urologist, Dr. Green-
wald has only been allowed to
work part time at a hospital un-
til he can prove he meets West-
ern standards.
He is a regular at the Jewish
Community Center in Munich,
participating in events and
learning more about Jewish tra-
dition.
Five hundred Russians came
to Germany last year, explains
Mr. Rokowski. Most came as
tourists, then applied for politi-
cal asylum. In the case of the
Jewish immigrants, however, Fran Rothbard is managing editor of
matters were further compli- the Atlanta Jewish Times.
,h