Jewish Life in Germany: Re-Establishing Trust

New York City
ermany has undergone a
transformation. Since the
fall of the Berlin Wall over
11 years ago, it has grown
together as a na-i on again.
Now that its full sovereignty has
been restored, Germany has become a
member of the international commu-
nity, which is prepared to assume
international responsibility. One visi-
ble expression of the changes that
have occurred in Germany is the
move of the national capital from
Bonn to Berlin. This transformation
has also been extensively reported in
the American media.
But there have also been much more
subtle changes, which have gone unno-
ticed by the American public and the
Jewish community in the United States.
The number of Jews living in Ger-
many has more than tripled during
the last 10 years, from 30,000 to now
100,000. Another 10,000 Jewish
immigrants come to Germany annual-
ly, to live there. Many Jews from the
territory of the former Soviet Union
in particular immigrate to Germany.
Today, there are 83 Jewish commu-
nities in Germany. This growth has
brought the reconstruction and
expansion of synagogues. For exam-
ple, the synagogue in Dresden is cur-
rently being rebuilt — through pri-
vate sponsorship. More and more Jew-
ish schools and kindergartens are also
cropping up throughout the country.
It means a great deal to me to see that
Jewish community life in Germany is
flourishing again.
Nevertheless, I know that many
Jews in America, including German-
Jewish emigrants, feel bitterness and
antipathy toward my country. As a
German ambassador who is very con-
scious of German 20th-century histo-
ry, I have deep human understanding
for these sentiments.
I have placed a high value on meet-
ing with representatives of the various
Jewish communities. In many of those
encounters, I met Jews who told me
about the positive experiences they
had had on trips to my country or in
their contacts with Germans.

G

Just as Kirk
Douglas, in a

New York Times

commentary,
recently cited
curiosity about
Berlin as his rea-
son for traveling
to Germany, so,
too, have many
JUERGEN
other North
CHROBOG
American Jews
Special
journeyed there,
Commentary
because they
wanted to see
with their own eyes how the country
has evolved. Many of them were able
to overcome impressions and preju-
dices that had been handed down to
them. This curiosity about Germany
is widespread. The recent trip to my
country by the North American Board
of Rabbis, the visit by a delegation of
the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, the
Prime Minister's Mission of the Unit-
ed Jewish Communities planned for
this October and the regularly occur-
ring trips by the American Jewish
Committee, all testify to this fact.

The second reason is the desire of
many Jews to reconnect with the rich
Jewish culture that existed in Germany
prior to 1933. For us as Germans, too,
our dialogue with Jews has shown us the
way back to a very integral part of our
cultural and intellectual history. That is
why I am so pleased that the German
government recently decided to provide
finding for the newly built Jewish
Museum in Berlin. The architectural
design of the building, by Daniel Libe-
skind, has already met with wide
acclaim. On Sept. 9, 2001, the first per-
manent exhibit on 2,000 years of Jewish
life in Germany will open there.
Another development that is little
known here in the U.S. concerns Ger-
many's relationship to Israel. Since the
two countries concluded the German-
Israeli Restitution Agreement in 1952
and first established diplomatic relations
in 1965, the bilateral relationship
between Germany and Israel has grown
very close. Today, Germany has become
Israel's most important ally after the
United States. Germany provides many
types of assistance to Israel — economic,
political, academic, as well as in the area
of defense. In early April, the former

What Israel Means To Me...

Andrea Fischer Newman

Senior Vice President Northwest Airlines

My career takes me all over the globe.

From Detroit to Washington to Shanghai

to Amsterdam, it can be challenging

sometimes to slow down and absorb

it all. But, Israel is the place in the world

where a visit can be transformed_ into an

experience. There, I turn off the laptop,

Re-Examining Prejudice

stop worrying about phone calls and

Many North American Jews travel to
Germany for two reasons.

immerse myself in the living history book

Juergen Chrobog is the German

and profound landscape around me.

ambassador to the United States. Jewish
Renaissance Media, parent company of
the Jewish News, is distributing this

In a world where we all strive to "stay

piece.

Israeli ambassador to Germany Avi Pri-
mor, highly praised the quality of Ger-
man-Israeli relations while on a lecture
tour in the United States. For Israeli
Jews, close contact with Germany has
become a daily reality.
One of my most important tasks as
German ambassador to the United
States has been to participate in the
negotiations to establish the Founda-
tion "Rememberance, Responsibility,
and the Future." The readiness of the
German government and German
industry to make available $5 billion,
in addition to past compensation
efforts, for the benefit of slave and
forced laborers demonstrates that the
postwar generation in Germany is also
conscious of its historical and moral
responsibility. This deep and genuine
occupation with our past has helped
us to create a mature and stable
democracy on German soil.
When I soon return to Berlin to
assume the role of state secretary of the
Foreign Office, I will do so in the aware-
ness of the close ties between Germany
and the Jewish community in the Unit-
ed States, which I will strive to further
strengthen in the future. ❑

connected," Israel connects me to my

homeland, my heritage and my faith.

A MN
Adormi

A message brought to you by the

American Jewish Committee

Metropolitan Detroit Chapter

In Celebration of Israel

Visit our Website www.ajc.org
For Membership Information,
call (248)646-7686

5/11

2001

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