Below is a summary of key observations by Moshe Dunie of the highly interesting 2006 AJC Adenauer Exchange trip. It is based on trip notes taken by Moshe Dunie (president of AJC Seattle Chapter) and the notes kindly provided by Dr. Marion Bergman (president of AJC Long Island Chapter). 

Photo on the right: Dr. Marion Bergman president of AJC Long Island chapter and Moshe Dunie visiting Frankfurt Jewish Cemetery with the AJC group October 2007.

Summary of key observations

1. Germany and Anti-Semitism prior to the Holocaust

• Anti-Semitism devastated Jewish life in Germany for hundreds of year. For example the Jewish community of Frankfurt suffered periodic massacres since 1241. During the outbreak of the Black Plague in 1349, Jews were slaughtered and expelled throughout Germany and Europe, as scapegoats. For example, the Jewish Ghetto in Nuremberg was destroyed by anti Semitic Christians and 500 Jews killed. In 1462 all the Jews of Frankfurt were required to relocate to the ghetto and periodically attacked by anti-Semitic mobs in devastating pogroms. Jews were not allowed in Nuremberg from 1499 to 1850. Jews benefited from the emancipation spread by the French Revolution, resulting, for example, in the elimination of the Frankfurt ghetto in 1811.

• Periodically the Jews were protected by rulers who wanted to benefit from tax revenues of prospering Jews. The tax burden on Jews was extra high.

2. Germany and the Holocaust

• Germany has done a remarkable job commemorating the Shoah and the horrors of the Nazi period. Examples are the documentation center in Nuremberg, the 16 holocaust memorials in Berlin, with the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" being the most prominent one and the Sachsenhausen camp Memorial. The Nazi massive and horrific extermination operation is thoroughly documented.

• Germany as a nation and the people we met, which represent the educated elite appear to be genuinely committed to never allowing the Dark Period to occur again. Germany's government has behaved in a responsible and sensitive way, demonstrating recognition of Germany's obligation to prevent recurrence

• AJC Action Item - Conflicting with the above, the PR campaign "Germany The land of Ideas" sponsored partly by the German Government, fails to properly recognize the dark past, does not emphasize human rights, and is propagating a message of a perfectly glorious Germany known for its inventiveness and creativity from Gutenberg right up to the present day. It raises a serious concern whether an attitude of "Enough Already" is growing in Germany, and whether "The Never Again" attitude of the people we met reflect just an elite, while the population at large is becoming detached form the dark past. AJC needs to be engaged with the "Land of Ideas" people.

• AJC Potential Action Item - The Fritz Bauer Institute in Frankfurt has done impressive research of the Holocaust and holds voluminous archives of interviews with survivors. Director, Prof Dr Dietrich Krause has studied holocaust denial and applied for research grant to scientifically edit the early documentations of gas poisonings. The research is to start in mid 2007, go on for 2 years, and he needs a scholar who can handle Polish and Yiddish to help him. We wonder whether AJC should support this project.

3. Germany and current Anti-Semitism

• 15% of the population is estimated to be Anti-Semitic, probably similar to other western European countries. It is stronger among the older generation and previous Eastern Germany states.

• The extremist parties such as the ultra right National Democratic Party (NPD) are supported mainly due to dissatisfaction with the job market rather than ideology, and therefore they are more successful in states with weak job market, namely, the East German States of Saxony, Berlin, Meklenberg and West Pomerania. They are also exploiting the shallow democratic values in regions with decades of communism. The National Democratic Party has gained ground, and seats in the State Legislature of these states. NPD has never won the minimum 5% of votes in German federal elections that allow a party to send delegates to the Bundestag. NPD won 9.2% of the vote in the 2004 state election in Saxony, and 7.3% of the vote in the recent 2006 September State Parliamentary election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Low voter participation in state elections is contributing to the success of NPD.

• NPD platform states "Germany will no longer tolerate the blackmail methods used by her enemies because of 'the past'." The internet sites of NPD parliament members include hard core anti-Semitic remarks. There is a growing number of right wing youth as reflected in their music. This is fueled by unemployment. Deirdre Berger (director of the Berlin AJC office) noted that there is an inter-party consensus that these developments should not get out of control

• Neo-Nazi demonstrations happen from time to time creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. For example. 750 neo-Nazis and other far-right supporters turned out in Berlin on October 22nd. Sixteen were arrested. On the 13th Feb there was a neo-Nazi Holocaust demonstration in Dresden which prompted a countermovement, driving the neo-Nazis to abandon their demonstration.

• Heavy security surrounds most synagogues and Jewish community centers, as Jews in Germany feel increasingly unsafe.

• The non- Jewish Germans we met with, representing the well educated elite, underplayed the threat of NPD and neo-Nazis in Germany. They consider them a marginal group that will never gain critical math. This attitude of well meaning Germans is a concern, as we all, and especially the Germans, must be very vigilant, in dealing with such extremists, as we cannot afford to be wrong.

• Stefan Kramer, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, feels that Jews in Germany today are largely seen as foreigners even by the well educated elite. Kramer told us that he and his wife are renting and did not buy a house, because of their concerns about the long term future of Jews in Germany. Hearing this raises the question whether the "Never Again" message we heard from the Germans we met, just represent a well meaning elite, and whether there are some dark issues lurking under the surface that were not fully visible to us during our trip.

• It is important to note that the extreme right is a small minority. All the Germans we met expressed strong democratic values and genuine belief that anti-Semitism is not acceptable. They were all very friendly towards us as member of the American Jewish Committee.

4. Germany's foreign policy:

• Iran. Iran was a top agenda item. While the German foreign relations experts and politicians we met view Iran as a serious concern, they consider Iranian leadership more rational than we do in the US. They are smart negotiators who recognize that US is incapable politically and militarily to stop Iran nuclear progress because of its engagement in Iraq. Germany and EU for historical reasons have issues with use of military force. Ruprecht Polenz, chairman of foreign affairs committee visited Iran 7 times in the last 2 years. He thinks that it will take 5-10 years for Iran to have a deployable nuclear weapon. We need more direct talks between the US and Iran. It will be more effective to have a more moderate UN resolution that is not opposed by China and Russia, than to have a stronger resolution opposed by China and Russia. A military option should only be considered if there is a very concrete threat of attack, which is not expected. Ruprecht Polenz thinks that should Iran develop nuclear weapon capability the West will be able to live with this, the same way the west managed during the cold war with Russia. Ahmadinejad is looking to keep the conflict going for as long as possible to deflect attention from internal problems such as employment inflation etc. Karl Theodor Guttenberg, a highly influential Bundestag member engaged with Iran, told us that Iranian President Ahmadinejad is gaining independence from Khomeini, is supported by the people, but the religious can halt him if they want to. The Iranian leaders are highly educated and well informed about our way of dealing. We need to train people to understand them. The Iranians would like to get a serious offer from the US such as a security guarantee/non aggression pact by the US. According to Ludger Siemes (Federal Chancery, Division Head, working closely with Merkel) Khomeini is more cautious and shifting away from the hardliners, however, the nuclear question unites the Iranians. If economic sanctions are imposed against Iran, Germany will be most hurt but would still go for sanctions. The economic situation there is difficult and Ahmadinejad has not delivered. The Iranian population is not radical and business oriented. Change in Iran will most likely eventually come for within through a regime change driven by the population.

• Iraq – There are mixed views about the US decision to go to war with Iraq, but there is a strong consensus that the execution has been mishandled resulting in a civil war and a mess. It limits US options in Iran and North Korea.

• China - China is a major factor for EU economically (huge demands, cheap labor) and politically (North Korea and Iran). The Chinese don't want unification of the Korean Peninsula under South Korean leadership. Te question is whether the Chinese leadership can influence regime change in North Korea without bringing about a collapse of the country. It is vital to have China support a UN sanctions resolution against Iran, because Iran views China as highly important.

• USA – Alliance with the US is considered strategically important. Germany owes the US a lot for both Reconstruction and Re-unification. Shared values and common interests are the foundation for the close relationship with the US; however, different views need to be tolerated. Strong economic ties. German soldiers are in Afghanistan through NATO. EU-US relations are more complex and difficult to understand, due to the complexity of EU.

• Israel - There is a special close relationship between Germany and Israel, because of the Holocaust. Germany at times is critical of Israeli policies, but is morally committed to the support of the State of Israel. Germany sold two submarines to Israel. Pictures on the Beirut bombings have caused reduced public support for Israel. Ninety percent of the "western" media teams are of Palestinian origin!!!

• Turkey and Turks in Germany – Broad opposition to having Turkey join the EU. Turks are Germany's largest ethnic minority and form most of Germany's Muslim minority. There are at least 2.1 million Turks in Germany.

5. Jewish Life in Germany

• There are 105,000 officially registered Jews in Germany. 65% of them are over 65years. Before 1933 there were 600,000 German Jews. 25-28,000 Jews decided to live in Germany after the war. Most were not the original German Jews. The German Government with the support of the American Jewish Congress enabled Jews from FSU to immigrate to Germany, in order to increase the Jewish population of Germany. An estimated 200,000 Jews immigrated to Germany from FSU in the last 14 years and of these 89,000 are registered. The various Jewish Communities in Germany are engaged in positive efforts to integrate the newcomer Russian majority into the core German Jewish minority. In Frankfurt we observed a group of young Jews from FSU being introduced to the Erev Shabbat (Friday night) tradition of Kiddush of the wine, Challah blessing, Jewish songs and Sabbath dinner. It was heart warming. There is some friction between the Russian newcomers and the old timers.

• As noted above, Stefan Kramer, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, feels that Jews in Germany today are not seen by the German population as fellow Germans, but rather as foreigners. The growing anti-Semitism is a concern to the German Jews.

• Our Adenauer Exchange tour surprisingly did not include a visit of the Berlin Jewish Museum. The museum is fascinating, showing two millennia of German Jewish history. We highly recommend including a tour of this Museum in the Adenauer Exchange program in the future. It is by far more interesting that The Jewish Museum of Franconia we visited in Fürth.

We met/visited:

• Politicians (Members of Bundestag, Mayors, State Government Personnel)
  
• Foreign -policy advisors to the CDU – experts on Middle East and Iran
  
• Representatives of the Jewish communities and attended Shabbat services in Frankfurt and Berlin
  
• Editors of the Frankfurter Alleghenies Zeitung (the leading German daily newspaper)
  
• Germany's public relations firm, Public Relations International, Germany - The Land of Ideas
  
• Fritz Bauer Institute
  
• Nazi documentation center in Nurmberg,
  
• Nurember Trials court room
  
• Visit to old cemeteries in Frankfurt and Nuremberg
  
• Tours of the Jewish Museums of Frankfurt and Franconia, Fürth
  
• FRG/GDR Border Museum, Modlareuth
  
• The Transparent Factory, Dresden
  
• Dresden Jewish Community Center and Synagogue
  
• Concentration camp near Berlin (Sachsenhausen)
  
• Central Council of Jews in Germany (Stephan Kramer)
  
• AJC Headquarters in Berlin (Deirdre Berger)
  
• Secretary General of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Wilhelm Staudacher)
  
• Bundestag (Met the Chair of foreign Affairs Committee) – Ruprecht Polenz
  
• Sight seeing tours of Jewish Frankfurt, Old Nuremberg, Dresden and Jewish Berlin