Darkness and light
I travelled to Germany in May 2022 to join a tour led by Rabbi Aaron Flanzraich. It turned out to be a journey of memory, reflection, dialogue and rebirth. Above from left, Stolperstein memorial plate, skylight of Dachau Jewish Memorial, dome of Neue Synagogue, students participating in a dialogue about coexistence.
A walking tour in Munich stopped at Konigsplatz and its Memorial to the Burning of Books in 1933. Above, from left - a circle of burnt grass, list of book titles and memorial plaque. The burnings, a campaign conducted by the German Student Union in cities across Germany and Austria, targeted books viewed as subversive or representing ideologies opposed to Nazism. Authors included Albert Einstein, Helen Keller and Ernest Hemingway. Right, the golden pathway of Shirkers’ Alley, a tribute to those who opposed Hitler.
We visited the beautiful and modern Ohel Jakob Synagogue and community centre, which serves the Orthodox community and houses its own memorial to the murdered Jews of Munich. Above, from left - the synagogue exterior, memorial wall, corridor of names of Holocaust victims, and shul interior.
The following day began at the Memorial to the 1972 Munich Massacre in Olympic Park, which commemorates and educates about the brutal ambush, taking of hostages, and ultimate murder of eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and one West German police officer by members of Black September, a Palestinian terror organization. Above right - a scene from the 1936 Olympic Summer Games.
Next, we traveled to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Inside the Jewish memorial, Rabbi Flanzraich gave a short but powerful sermon and led us in reciting Kaddish, the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead.
The highlight of a very difficult day was its culmination - a meaningful dialogue with local students about coexistence, tolerance and diversity, and what they learned on their tour of Dachau. All were heartened and galvanized with a new sense of purpose, understanding, diligence and hope towards the future.
Next stop: Berlin, where we visited the German Federal Foreign Office and were addressed by Ambassador Felix Klein, Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany. He explained his principle mandate of ensuring compliance with the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in all government institutions, particularly educational ones, in order to address the alarming escalation of harassment and threats of violence targeting Jews in Germany. An inspiring and vital example for other countries to follow.
By the shores of a scenic lake, we visited The House of the Wannsee Conference museum, site of the infamous January 1942 meeting to plan the Final Solution by leading Nazi and SS officials. From right, Gestapo chief Heinrich Mueller; an example of antisemitic graffiti on a shop window in Oslo of 1941 calling for the expulsion of Jews to Mandatory Palestine; lake view; and facade of the mansion.
We wandered through the exquisite grounds of Sanssouci Palace, then headed to the University of Potsdam and its School of Jewish Theology, where we met with rabbinical students and Rabbi Aaron presented a Torah scroll donated by Beth Sholom Synagogue in Toronto. It was a very moving experience to witness and contribute to the continuation of Jewish life, learning and leadership in 21st-century Germany.
Back in Berlin, some striking architecture. Above from left - the Daniel Libeskind-designed Jewish Museum with a mural of notables and Shalekhet - Fallen Leaves, and Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
Final scenes that left a feeling of renewal, from left: the lovely rebuilt Neue Synagogue with its majestic dome, a group of schoolchildren at the memorial in the restored Old Jewish Cemetery, an idyllic scene in the Tiergarten, and the restored Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial of 1904, tribute to classical composers.