Munich: Ceremony for Charlotte Knobloch on her 90th birthday – Munich

There is no better place in Munich to celebrate Charlotte Knobloch. In the main synagogue Ohel-Jakob on Jakobsplatz, the 90th birthday of the President of the Jewish Community in Munich and Upper Bavaria (IKG) will be celebrated with a big ceremony on Sunday. This synagogue, whose stone block is modeled on the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, is Charlotte Knobloch’s life’s work. At least that part of it that you can touch with your hands. Her gift for reconciliation, her work deep into society is the other part, which is not so easy to measure and which the guests from politics, society and religion appreciated at the ceremony. First and foremost Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) in his speech when he said: “I am deeply grateful for the gift of reconciliation that you have given our country and also to me personally. It is a precious gift. Without people like you I would be a different person today.”

The ceremony on Sunday ended with a New Year’s reception, because the Jewish year 5783 has begun. For Shmuel Aharon Brodman, the community rabbi of the IKG, it is no coincidence that the jubilee was born at this time of the year – because during Rosh Hashanah, as the New Year is called in Hebrew, one commemorates history, reflects on the past and plans for the future . “Charlotte Knobloch’s life is also characterized by continuity on the one hand and renewal on the other,” he said.

Charlotte Knobloch has experienced and moved so much in the past 90 years that it hardly fits into a single life. She was born on October 29, 1932 in Munich. She describes the fact that she survived the Nazi era as a “miracle”. Because a previous housekeeper passed her off as her own illegitimate child, she survived the Holocaust on a farm in Middle Franconia. After the Second World War she returned to Munich, married Samuel Knobloch and had three children. Since 1985 she has been the President of the Jewish community in Munich and Upper Bavaria. From 2006 to 2010 she was also President of the Central Council of Jews, she also founded the German section of the Women’s International Zionist Organization. She is also the World Jewish Congress Commissioner for Holocaust Remembrance. She is an honorary citizen of the city of Munich, wears the Federal Cross of Merit and an honorary doctorate, and is involved in countless institutions and associations – against anti-Semitism, against right-wing extremism. It is largely thanks to her that Jewish life and the community center have had a place in the heart of the city since 2006.

Inside the synagogue, designed with light-colored Jerusalem stone and cedar wood from Lebanon, it was quiet

At the beginning of the ceremony, the last rays of sun shimmered through the bronze net in the cuboid skylight, consisting of steel Stars of David. The ceremony was framed by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter with scholarship holders from her foundation and members of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra. The music selection: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, whose music was no longer allowed to be played at the beginning of the Nazi era in 1933 because he was a Jew. Later “Air” by Johann Sebastian Bach, whom the National Socialists had celebrated as a “Nordic” artist and whose compositions they performed at Nazi party rallies.

“I stand before you – as a proud German.” Federal President Steinmeier recalled the words that Charlotte Knobloch said in the plenary hall of the Bundestag on January 27, 2021 at the commemoration hour for the victims of National Socialism. That phrase still reverberates today. “What a confession of a woman who was persecuted, humiliated, terrorized as a child, who experienced endless suffering. What power lies in this sentence. What courage,” he said. Inside the synagogue, designed with light-colored Jerusalem stone and cedar wood from Lebanon, it was very quiet. The Federal President and the IKG President often meet. For example, on anniversaries of the liberation of Auschwitz or Holocaust Remembrance Day. Most recently in the summer at the memorial service for the victims of the assassination attempt on the Israeli team at the 1972 Olympic Games. “In recent years it has been worryingly often about the growing anti-Semitism in our country, about attacks on Jews and anti-Semitic hate speech. And unfortunately it worked also about perfidious attacks, about vile threats against you personally”, Steinmeier turned to Knobloch.

The 90-year-old has built bridges – across the abysses of German history. “You have always sought dialogue, for reconciliation, for a peaceful, enlightened coexistence of religions.” Knobloch, a “cornucopia of humanity”, is an important, a highly valued voice. “You do not shy away from clear, unambiguous words, you are critical and always uncomfortable. You see it as one of your most important tasks to issue warnings. And especially at a time like the current one, in which our democracy is in many western democracies, but also is more contested here, we need you, our country needs your voice.”

Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) agreed with Steinmeier’s words. The Jewish center on Sankt-Jakobs-Platz is a visible and proud expression of Munich’s Jewish community, which belongs to the heart of the city. “We owe all of this to your personal courage, your human size and your persistent commitment,” he said to Knobloch. She is also an inspiration for him and shows how important it is to fight anti-Semitism with all vigor and to do everything to ensure that Jews in Germany feel safe. Reiter continues: “Rest assured at this point: We will never leave your side. Your well-being, your safety and your fight are ours.”

Other greetings were given at the event on Sunday by Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Charlotte Knobloch herself said: “I will not remain silent as long as I am able to say a word.” The Federal President said that he saw this as a promise. And what does the 90-year-old answer with a smile: “I’m not giving in. We have to have courage. I want my children and great-grandchildren to be able to have a nice life in a free country.”

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