portrait
His opinion has weight: Josef Schuster is a doctor and chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Today he turns 70. A look at his life and work.
Modest, helpful, competent: these are the words long-time companions from his hometown of Würzburg use to describe Josef Schuster. He is a man who never seeks the limelight, although he is a sought-after conversation partner. Now Josef Schuster is celebrating his 70th birthday.
Schuster was born in 1954 in Haifa, Israel. His parents emigrated there. The Schuster family actually comes from Bad Brückenau, a small health resort in Lower Franconia. His grandparents ran a kosher hotel there for Jewish guests, among other things.
The Schusters were respected citizens. But then the Nazis came to power. They took father David and grandfather Julius first to the Dachau concentration camp, then to Buchenwald. Both were later released – on the condition that they leave Germany. The family moved to Palestine.
In 1956 the family returned to Lower Franconia with two-year-old Josef. They regained their rightful ownership in Bad Brückenau. Since there was no longer a Jewish community there, nearby Würzburg became the family’s new home.
“Collegial and helpful”
Josef Schuster studied medicine in Würzburg. He ran his own practice as an internist until 2020. In addition, to this day he regularly drives missions as an emergency doctor.
“Josef was always open, collegial and helpful, never stood out or thought he was something special. A completely normal comrade and very competent,” remembers Reinhold Dietsch, who worked with Schuster again and again during his time at the Bavarian Red Cross. Schuster also went on missions on Christmas Eve – so that his Christian colleagues could have the holiday off, Dietsch remembers.
Commitment to the Jewish community
But the job alone was never enough to be a shoemaker. In 1998 he became chairman of the Jewish Community of Würzburg and Lower Franconia. Previously, his father David had had a significant influence on the community. Josef Schuster still holds the office in Würzburg today. As one of many: Since November 2014 he has been President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. He has been a member of the German Ethics Council since 2020.
Schuster also represents Judaism on an international level. Since 2014 he has been Vice President of both the World and the European Jewish Congress.
Despite all his national and international tasks, Josef Schuster never forgot his hometown. “He’s a caretaker,” says Klaus Reder, home care manager for the Lower Franconia district.
Schuster made a lasting commitment to the Jewish community in Würzburg and Lower Franconia – for example in the creation of “Shalom Europa”, a Jewish cultural and community center. This has developed into a cultural center of Würzburg. “He is the face of Judaism that belongs to this city and to all of Lower Franconia and all of Germany,” says Reder.
“Being aggressive won’t get you anywhere”
Schuster appears calm in public. He chooses his words carefully and carefully. In Würzburg, Mayor Christian Schuchardt values him as a “fighter for the Jewish community.” He admires Schuster’s “rhetorical precision.”
Ludwig Spaenle, the Bavarian State Government’s Commissioner for Jewish Life and Against Anti-Semitism, praises him as “a champion of the concerns of Jews in Bavaria and Germany who is capable of dialogue and at the same time assertive.”
“You can’t get anywhere by screaming and being aggressive,” says Josef Schuster in an interview with BR. With a calm tone it is sometimes easier to convince others of your own arguments.
Reinhold Dietsch, with whom Schuster went on many missions for the Red Cross as an emergency doctor, also confirms: “I never saw him stressed. He was always competent and knew what he was doing. Even when it came to communicating illness situations to relatives. “
Demonstrations as hopeful Sign
In his role as President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Schuster always has to find the right words in difficult situations. This was particularly true in the weeks after October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel.
The war in Gaza is frightening, says Schuster. He is observing additional uncertainty in the Jewish communities: due to the Hamas attack, the emergence of right-wing parties in Germany and Europe, and anti-Semitism. The latter has recently become louder, “since October 7th also from the Muslim and left-wing radical side.”
Jewish institutions are now well protected. Outside of this, however, many Jews no longer dare to show themselves with Jewish symbols, says Schuster.
He is positively surprised by the reaction of civil society, which has demonstrated in the hundreds of thousands against right-wing extremism in recent weeks and months. For Schuster, this is a very hopeful sign that people have understood that democracy cannot be taken for granted.
No time for hobbies yet
Despite his many voluntary positions, Schuster is still not thinking about quitting, even at the age of 70. “I gave up my practice four years ago, now I only have my voluntary work, which is almost a full-time job – but the stress is less. There is no time for hobbies at the moment – and if I do, then a trip with mine Woman.”
His birthday wish? The world should be a little more peaceful. He also wishes for good health and “a continued harmonious family life with the children and grandchildren.”
You can find out more about the Schuster family in the BR documentary “The Schuster case”.
Primin Breninek, BR, tagesschau, March 19, 2024 5:41 p.m