AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION & OPINION NEWSLETTER dubowdigest@optonline.net

AMERICAN EDITION

September 25, 2011

Dear Friends:

First and foremost let me wish you the best for the upcoming year. L’Shanah Tovah!

This past week has been a difficult one for Israel and the Jewish people in terms of what has been happening at the United Nations. There was not much of a role for the Germans to play and so practically nothing was heard from them. Whatever votes they may cast on upgraded Palestinian membership are in the future and we will have to see what course their leaders map out for themselves.

At the moment most German political energy is being spent on the financial future of the European Union and how to keep its weakest members from going into default. While Chancellor Merkel is strong for Germany trying to keep the EU together, there are forces that are in opposition feeling that Germany should not be further supporting those that are not keeping up.

If you are interested in such things click here for a Yahoo.com story on the issuehttp://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110924/bs_nm/us_eurozone_germany_esm

So, with the New Year wish of “Apples & Honey” for you all, let’s get on with the news…

IN THIS EDITION

GERMANY & THE UN – Their role as a Security Council member.

NEO-NAZISM IN M-WP – Neo-Nazis gain seats in a state election – again!

BANNING THE HNG – A neo-Nazi organization is banned.

GERMANY, THE EURO & THE JEWS – Is a stronger EU good for the Jews?

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SUMMER OF CHANGE – European Jewry strengthens.

THE BERLIN STATE ELECTION – National implications?

THE POPE IN GERMANY – Homeland does not always mean Loveland.

AN INTERESTING ESSAY – The grandson of a Nazi criminal writes about his grandfather and his own life.

GERMANY & THE UN

With the vote on Palestinian statehood put off for an indeterminate period of time, Germany was not called upon to take any role in the debate. The European countries may have more of a role as the situation moves on but, at the time of this writing, it is on the sidelines waiting – and thinking about what, if anything, they can do to be involved. They were involved in the Quartet Plan but that does not seem to be going anywhere though in may in the future.

Germany, consumed by the bailout problem and mostly subsumed as part of the EU, does not seem to have much of an independent role. According to Ralf Neukirch writing in Spiegel On-Line, “Berlin had hoped that its current stint on the United Nations Security Council would ultimately be a springboard to permanent membership. The opposite has proven to be the case. The country's international influence is shrinking and diplomats in New York have lost faith in Germany.

(On) March 17 of this year. That was the day on which the Security Council passed its Resolution 1973 on Libya, which called for the implementation of a no-fly zone and the use of military force to protect the civilian population. All Western and African members of the council voted in favor of the resolution. Except for one.”

”… the German UN ambassador was forced to abstain from the vote, on instructions from Berlin. It was a decision which redrew the Security Council alliances -- Germany suddenly found itself grouped together with Russia, China, India and Brazil. More than that, the vote represented a break with Germany's foreign policy maxim to never oppose its European partners and the United States.

It was just one year ago that Germany was elected to serve a two-year stint as a non-permanent member of the council. The choice was seen as Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's greatest success to date. And it was intended as a first step on the road to a UN reform and a permanent German seat on the council.

But with Westerwelle in New York this week to attend another session of the UN General Assembly, Germany's record on the Security Council to date is worse than even the greatest pessimists had expected. The Germans had hoped to portray themselves as a force for good and to exert a positive influence on Western policies.

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Instead, Berlin must now prove to its partners that it remains reliable. Germany, at the moment, has little leeway at the UN.

Furthermore, Berlin's declared goal of becoming a permanent Security Council member has receded far into the distance. Why should the Americans, French or British stand behind a partner who cannot be relied upon in an emergency? Its election last year to the council has harmed more than it has benefited Germany.

Even prior to the Libya vote, Germany had become aware that even its closest allies were not willing to grant Berlin a special role. The Germans wanted to be involved in preliminary discussions among the French, British and Americans, as the Security Council veto holders established their position for future sessions. But Berlin was coolly and decidedly rebuffed. Instead, the Western powers merely promised to keep Germany informed.

Neukirch continues making the case for a secondary international role for Germany. Has its post World War II position of being neutral on issues that call for military power make it eternally “vanilla”? I’m not sure. In addition, I’m not sure that it is a good thing for such a strong economic nation with Germany’s history to become more in line with those countries that are military prone.

You can read the entire Neukirch piece by clicking here and making up your own mind. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,787322,00.html I’d be interested in your opinion and be glad to include it in the next edition.

Not much of a surprise was Germany’s walkout when Iran’s Ahmadinejad spoke. According to DW-World, “The German delegation said it had left the assembly because of the "crude, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-West tirade by the Iranian president."

A French source told the AFP news agency that the departure had been coordinated and was planned to take place if Ahmadinejad called into question European nations for their 'support of Zionism' or referred to the Holocaust”.

In addition Germany had announced earlier that it would not attend the Durban 3 meeting and, indeed, did not. Interestingly, this anti-Semitic, anti-Israel hate fest seemingly turned out to be a big nothing. It barely got any press and most of the Western nations did not attend. If there is a Durban 4 it will probably be held in a telephone booth (if there are still any of them still around these days).

NEO-NAZISM IN M-WP

In the last edition I wrote about the neo-Nazi party, NPD, once again gaining seats in the parliament of Mecklenburg – Western Pomerania. While I termed the elections

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only “disappointing”, David Crossland writing in Spiegel On-Line noted, “The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has allowed neo-Nazism to fester in its rural areas by neglecting the needs of local people and failing to confront xenophobia head-on. Analysts warn that Sunday's election outcome for the far-right NPD party suggests the state is losing the battle against extremists.

Far-right supporters are firmly ensconced in rural communities, where they staff the local fire departments, run leisure activities for young people and even provide citizen's advice for welfare claimants. They live in a vacuum, in small towns and villages abandoned by mainstream democratic parties and by overstretched, underfunded local authorities, and are often free to express their ideology unhindered by the police or courts.

The NPD won 6.0 percent of the overall vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, enough to remain represented in the state parliament for a second five-year term. The NPD, which has five seats the Mecklenburg parliament, has been described by the German domestic intelligence agency as being a "racist, anti-Semitic, revisionist" party bent on removing democracy and forming a Fourth Reich. However, the party has not yet succeeded in landing any seats in the federal parliament, the Bundestag.

Parliamentary representation is hugely important to the NPD because it provides it with access to public funds, allows it to build up a professional staff and gives the party a bigger platform from which to espouse its propaganda. Worst of all, it gains a veneer of respectability.

"For the situation to improve, the region needs a real economic turnaround, and a more vigorous confrontation and isolation of far-right ideology, everyday racism and the NPD," and the justice system must take firmer action against far-right violence."

Ingmar Dette, an anti-Nazi campaigner based in the town of Anklam, a notoriously far-right part of the state, said the mainstream democratic parties were partly to blame for the NPD's strong showing on Sunday.

"They focused too much on campaigning in the cities," Dette told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. Parties needed to do more to reach out to people in rural areas.

You should read the whole article which you can do by clicking here. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,784686,00.html#ref=nlint

There are a couple of important points made in the article. First of all, allowing the situation to continue without action from the main parties gives the NPD the ability to continue to exist and, perhaps, to grow.

Second, there are things that can be done but none of the parties is doing anything.

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The M-WP election brought forth a lot of media comment other than the Spiegel-Online article. In a roundup article The Local, a German news service noted, “The centre-left Süddeutsche Zeitung also said the continuing success of the neo-Nazi party in the northeast of Germany was deeply disturbing.

“The problem how to undermine support for this party remains elusive. It has a notable core of voters – a problem seen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and in Saxony, where it was won seats for the second time in row. Not even dropping unemployment helped. Something is deeply wrong in a society when the NPD has greater success in a state election than the FDP.”

Germany is beginning to wake up to the problem. This is not the last time you will hear from me on the subject.

BANNING THE HNG

No sooner had I finished the above piece when I read that Germany had banned one of its largest neo-Nazi organizations. JTA reported, “Announcing the ban of HNG, the "national organization for political prisoners and their relatives," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Wednesday that the organization's real purpose is to assist far-right extremists in opposing the democratic state.

A series of raids on HNG cells followed the ban, and materials were seized as evidence at locations in the states of Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westfalia and Rhineland Pfalz. HNG, which reportedly was founded in 1979 and had 600 members, was subjected to a search-and-seizure operation last year, which revealed that the group was actively working to undermine the democratic state, according to the Interior Ministry.

Friedrich in his statement said that the federal government had to stop HNG from bolstering the aggressive, anti-democratic position of jailed right-wing extremists.

"By rejecting the democratic rule of law and glorifying Nazism, HNG was trying to bind far-right criminals to 'the scene,' " he said.”HNG has contributed to the apparent radicalization of the neo-Nazi scene" through its solidarity with and financial support for criminals.

HNG has been assisting mainly younger neo-Nazis. Another organization -- Stille Hilfe, or Silent Aid -- has been helping accused or convicted Nazi war criminals since 1951. Some observers say Stille Hilfe has helped accused criminals evade justice.

It appears that Minister Friedrich is already wide awake.

GERMANY, THE EURO & THE JEWS

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Over the years I have made it abundantly clear that I know very little about economics. When I see an article about the Euro my mind wanders back to my last trip to Germany where I got very few of them for the dollars I exchanged.

However, when I come across an article in Spiegel Online wherein Chancellor Merkel is reported as having said, “"The euro is much, much more than a currency," Merkel said.”The euro is the guarantee of a united Europe. If the euro fails, then Europe fails.", it gets me thinking.

I’m not for Europe failing nor am I opposed to the nations in the EU having closer monetary and economic relations. That’s their business. If their economies are stronger then in all probability their democracies will also be stronger too. Economic weakness is all too often fuel for anti-democracy.

What I worry about is Euro politics. The Spiegel article notes, “In a speech before German parliament, part of a general debate on the budget, Merkel made a plea for "more Europe" and said that to make Europe strong and lasting, "treaty amendments can no longer be taboo in order to bind the EU closer together." She also reminded her country that a strong Europe was in Germany's interest. "In the long term, Germany cannot be successful if Europe isn't doing well too."

It was unclear whether Merkel was referring to recent demands by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble for a new treaty which would hand far-reaching fiscal powers to Brussels or to her own 2010 demands for a Lisbon Treaty amendment strengthening deficit rules.

If there is a new treaty (or something like it) what will that mean for the independence of German foreign policy? Will the EU govern more of the policy decisions regarding the Middle East and Israel? I have pointed out many times that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Lady Catherine Ashton does not seem to be a particularly good friend of Israel’s.

I’m a great believer in the maxim, as Deep Throat once said, “Follow the money”. I fear that a strengthened economic EU will mean a strengthened political EU. That may mean a tougher time for Israel and the Jews as independent German foreign policy weakens. Stay tuned.

SUMMER OF CHANGE

According to The Jewish Week, this past summer saw (in Uppsala, Sweden), “Summer of Change” … a high-energy collaboration between three international foundations and organizations, all sharing a vision for revitalizing the European Jewish community…”

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The first two of three successive meetings in Uppsala (all part of “Summer of Change”) were co-sponsored by Paideia; ROI Community, a Jerusalem-based global community of Jewish innovators created by Lynn Schusterman; and JHub: Jewish Action and Innovation, a London-based program funded by the Pears Foundation. The first meeting, Project-Incubator, conceived by Paideia and now in its sixth year, brings together European activists hoping to initiate new projects. 

Many of the participants also took part in the second conference, JPropel, a first-ever seminar for young Jewish innovators more advanced in their entrepreneurial work who, as the name implies, would be propelled forward through technical and educational  support — and strengthened in their efforts by meeting  like-minded folks from all over Europe. 

I was particularly interested is the part of the story about Valentiana Marcenaro who lives in Dresden. It noted, “Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen” changed Valentina Marcenaro’s life. The Italy-born Marcenaro read it in Italian as an undergraduate at the University of Trento. That book led her to study Jewish texts in order to better understand the novel, and eventually to study — and return to — her own Jewish roots. She eventually wrote her thesis about women in Potok’s work.

Marcenaro now lives in Dresden, Germany, where she organizes cultural events for the Jewish community. Her German husband, a doctor, is in the process of converting to Judaism. She works to attract all of the community’s Jews as well as non-Jews to attend the programs “to get to know Judaism.”

“This is the only way to prevent racism,” she says. “I’m not saying we want old Nazis to show up. We want people to see that we’re exactly like them, we’re not exotic.” She adds, “The time has come for German young people to look forward. Jews no longer need to define themselves through the Shoah. Jewish culture is about so much more than that.”

The loops and detours in Marcenaro’s life that led her back to practicing Judaism with her family and to professional work in the Jewish community are singular, but many of her fellow European participants in last month’s “Summer of Change” in Uppsala, Sweden, had similarly striking stories of reclaiming their Jewish identity and asserting it in creative, meaningful ways. 

The story underlines the fact that Jewish life in Europe (and particularly in Germany) is far from stagnant or dead. Quite the contrary, with small Jewish communities coming back to life 66 years after the Holocaust there seems to be a kind of fresh and exciting thinking that, perhaps, we do not find in either the U.S. of Israel. While I do not want to appear too Pollyanna about this rebirth as it, in many ways, is just a flickering thus far. However, people fighting against the odds oft times have to use imagination to score successes and European Jewry seems to have caught on to something unique and that, in itself, is exciting.

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Read the whole story by clicking here. http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/international/european_jewrys_summer_change

THE BERLIN STATE ELECTION

You may already know that Berlin is not only the German capital and a great city; it is also a German state. It recently had its state election and, once again, the parties in the national coalition that govern the country took it on the chin.

As expected, Social Democratic Mayor, Klaus Wowereit was re-elected. His party will probably go into a coalition with the Green Party to rule state.

Chancellor Merkel’s CDU will once again be in opposition. The biggest blow to the Chancellor (whose party actually did better this election than in the last one) was the fact that her partner party, the Free Democrats, failed to make the 5% needed to get a seat in the state parliament. It added to the perception that both the Chancellor and her presumed partner are increasingly weak.

The most interesting outcome was that a ”civil rights” kind of party, the Pirate Party, which had never before gained seats in a state election got enough votes to make it into the Berlin parliament. If you’re interested in what the Pirate Party is, click here.http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15397528,00.html

The bottom line here has to be that, though expected, the German electorate seems to have little or no faith in the current national coalition – especially the business oriented Free Democrats. However, the national elections are two years off and a lot can happen in that time. With both the CDU and the Social Dems (SPD), the two parties that would normally oppose each other, both having about 30% of the electorate, a Grand Coalition of the two seems more and more a possibility.

Spiegel On-Line points out in a recent article, “Germany's ruling coalition of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the FDP is under increasing pressure as the euro chaos continues. Some in the chancellor's party are now contemplating a return to the grand coalition with the Social Democrats. The SPD aren't keen, but could they say no?

Read the article by clicking here. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,786671,00.html

THE POPE IN GERMANY

One would think that when the German born Pope, Benedict XVI, visited his own homeland he would get a unanimous welcome from all his countrymen, Catholic and otherwise. And, that it would be forthcoming if for no other reason that he is the first

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German since 1523 to reach the exalted position of leader of the world’s Catholics. Right? Wrong!

Yes, His Holiness received a red carpet welcome from the Germany’s political leadership and was honored by being invited to give a speech at the Bundestag. However, according to DW-World,” At the same time, beyond the parliament building, six anti-pope demonstrations were underway in the center of Berlin. For security reasons, the demonstrators were kept away from the immediate vicinity of the parliament and instead gathered a kilometer away on Potsdamer Platz. Originally some 20,000 people had been expected, but estimates suggest around 10,000 actually turned up. Some 6,000 police officers were on duty to protect the pope and to regulate the traffic near the sealed-off buildings and streets.

Before the long-awaited speech to the German lower house of parliament by Pope Benedict XVI, a number of opposition parliamentarians had protested against the appearance of a religious leader in the Bundestag, on the grounds that it violated the separation of church and state. But in fact Pope Benedict's address was more like a philosophical lecture than a political tool. The former theological professor, Joseph Ratzinger, reflected mostly on the relationship between reason and faith.

The pope spoke of how difficult it is for politicians in the modern world to recognize true justice in lawmaking. He advised the parliamentarians to remember the Christian roots of the European conception of justice. He said that nature and reason were the true sources of justice.

Much of the reception the Pope received in his 4 day trip in Germany was extremely positive. However, as Spiegel On-Line pointed out before his arrival, “The pope's visit to Germany this week promises to be difficult. Abuse scandals among priests worldwide have dimmed enthusiasm for the leader of the Catholic Church, even in his homeland, and German papers on Thursday bicker over whether the pontiff even deserves their respect.

It's a difficult homecoming for the German-born pope, who felt compelled to acknowledge the planned protests to journalists on the plane from Rome . Protest is "normal in a free society and in the secularized world," he said. "I can understand that some people have been scandalized by the crimes that have been revealed in recent times," a reference to abuse scandals that have tarnished the Church in dioceses from Australia and America to Europe. But, he said, "I was born in Germany. Such roots cannot be severed, nor should they be."

From Berlin the pontiff planned to travel on to Erfurt and Eichsfeld in the eastern state of Thüringia, then to Freiburg in the south.

Being that I’m not a Catholic I’m not in a position to pass any sort of a judgment regarding the Pope’s positions on major Church issues. I guess that if I was one I’d be for having women priests, allowing priests to marry and be open to welcoming

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those of all genders to marrying whomever they wanted to. However, my own religion is not so totally open to all those liberal practices so who am I to talk?

I actually think it took some courage for the Pope to come back to Germany even though he knew he’d be facing a lot of criticism. I just hope he takes it all to heart and particularly understand how upset some of his constituents are about members of the clergy molesting children and then having it covered up.

In addition I hope he continues the policies first established by Pope John XX!!! Who in 1965 said, “We are conscious today that many, many centuries of blindness have cloaked our eyes so that we can no longer see the beauty of Thy chosen people nor recognise in their faces the features of our privileged brethern. We realize that the mark of Cain stands upon our foreheads. Across the centuries our brother Abel has lain in blood which we drew, or shed tears we caused by forgetting Thy love. Forgive us for the curse we falsely attached to their name as Jews. Forgive us for crucifying Thee a second time in their flesh. For we know what we did."

Incidentally, the Pontiff did meet with representatives of the German Jewish community. According to Y-Net News, “Germany's small Jewish community praised Pope Benedict on Thursday for stressing the common roots of Christianity and Judaism but warned him it would be hurt if he honors wartime Pope Pius XII, who it said was silent during the Holocaust.

 Dieter Graumann, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, also said Jews were hurt by his support for an ultra-traditionalist Catholic group they consider bigoted against Jews, Muslims, gays, women and Protestants.

In his remarks to the Jews, Benedict said Christians should never forget the horrors of the Holocaust and should become increasingly aware of their faith's deep affinity with Judaism. Noting that the Nazis planned and organized the attempt to exterminate the Jews from offices in Berlin, Benedict called the city a "central place of remembrance."

You can read more about the meeting by clicking here.http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4126380,00.html

AN INTERESTING ESSAY

In closing I thought you might like to read an interesting essay by Ferdinand von Shirach. He is a grandson of Baldur von Shirach who was a close Hitler associate and the head of the Hitler Youth. (Click here for information on him). The grandfather was convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He served 11 and was released. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur_von_Schirach

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According to Spiegel On-Line Ferdinand, 47, works as a defense attorney in Berlin and has published two bestselling collections of short stories ("Crime" and "Guilt"). His first novel, "Der Fall Collini" ("The Collini Case," Piper Verlag, currently only available in German), has just been published. The novel tells the story of an Italian toolmaker who murders a major German industrialist. The novel deals with the inherited guilt of Germans and scandals in the postwar justice system that dealt with Nazi crimes. It also poses the question of how the grandchildren's generation should deal with the guilt of their grandfathers.

It is obvious, carrying the von Shirach name; the crimes of the grandfather are never far away from the grandson. His essay, Why I Cannot Answer Questions about My Grandfather, is touching and instructive. In many ways it relates to the way today’s young Germans handle the past.

Read the essay by clicking herehttp://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,784373,00.html

************************************************************************************************DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted by clicking here

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