DuBow Digest American Edition

A Newsletter on American Jewish - German Relations

AMERICAN EDITION
April 1, 2009

Dear Friends:

Before getting to the “meat & potatoes” of the newsletter I want you to know that
DuBow Digest has entered the World of the Website! DuBow Digest now has its own
website, http://www.dubowdigest.typepad.com/

Both the American and Germany editions of the newsletter will be posted there so
you can easily read the one that goes to Germany. (It’s in English). The website
is called DuBow Digest Denk-Schrift (Think Piece). Posted will be items too long
for the newsletter and articles written by people other than me. If you have
something interesting on the DD subject let me know and I’ll post it.

Second, I am also posting on a something called “scribd” which has a Google

connection. So, if you type in “DuBow Digest” in Google – Voila! There it will be!

Now down to business…

IN THIS ISSUE
*The Economy: Today’s Real Germany
*Neo-Nazis and the Culture
*The EU: A Puzzlement for Most of US
*Fall of the Wall: 20th Anniversary
* Rehabilitating Nazi-Era Traitors
*Heiner: A Special Person
*International Commemoration Day for Holocaust Victims at the Bundestag
*Personal Notes

THE ECONOMY: TODAY’S REAL GERMANY

If the sum total of your reading about Germany includes only DuBow Digest you may
not have a fully rounded picture of what Germans are doting on these days. By and
large, they are not walking around thinking a lot about the Holocaust, anti-
Semitism and other matters of Jewish interest. Surely, they’re more interested in
their own economy, whether they still have jobs and how they are going to pay
their bills. Sound familiar? They’re actually in about the same sort of shape that
we in the U.S. are in. A saving grace for them is that they have a much better
developed “social net” so, with universal health care; for instance, no one has to
sacrifice their health status in order to buy food for the kids.

Deutsche Welle reports, “The economic slowdown will have a much bigger impact on
Germany than previously thought. Experts say the economy will contract by up to 7
percent, and push unemployment up to 4.75 million by the end of 2010. Germany's
Commerzbank has warned that the economic downturn will have a harsher effect on
the country's development than predicted at the start of the year.
Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank, told the Berliner Zeitung that in
light of plunging order intakes among German companies, Germany's economy would
shrink by as much as 7 percent this year.
The number of unemployed can be expected to grow by more than 1.5 million within a
two-year period, Kraemer said, adding that by the end of 2010, Germany will be
nearing the 5 million mark. Currently, some 3.5 million Germans are registered as
unemployed.
The nation's GDP could contract by 4 percent to 4.5 percent this year, according
to an internal economics ministry report cited by the Bild newspaper on Tuesday,
March 24. In January, the ministry predicted a contraction of only 2.25 percent
for this year. A new forecast will be issued next month.

To add to these problems there is a lot of internal squabbling about whether the
government should bail out Opel, a major German car maker which also happens to be
part of GM. Chancellor Merkel, seems to be opposed feeling that bailouts are bad
business. The Social Democrats seem to be in favor as a bailout would keep Opel
operating and many union members working. As of this writing they’re still
arguing. Sound familiar?

Horst Koehler is the President of Germany. At times he speaks above politics and
politicians directly to the people. Such is the case in a recent speech on the
economy. Pres. Koehler is the former managing Director of the International
Monetary Fund so he knows a little about financial matters. He recently made a
speech which you can read in its entirety. Access it at:
http://www.bundespraesident.de/en/-,5.653306/Berlin-Address-by-Federal-Pres.htm

NEO-NAZIS AND THE CULTURE

I reported in the last edition that the neo-Nazi NPD party was financially
strapped but I warned that it certainly wasn’t going away. Perhaps even more
important at the moment than its political clout (very minimal) is its cultural
impact on youth. Unhappily, that seems much more than minimal.

“The neo-Nazi scene, both inside and outside the NPD, is becoming stronger, not as
a nationwide electoral force but in its influence on racist attitudes and
violence," Professor Hajo Funke, a prominent analyst of the far right at Berlin's
Free University”, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "There are places I wouldn't advise anyone
who looks foreign to go without protection."

Der Spiegel continues, “Funke's analysis was backed up this week by a major new
study which showed that fully one in seven German teenagers -- 14.4 percent --
have attitudes deemed highly xenophobic. They agreed with statements like, for
example, "Most immigrants are criminal."

The two-year, government-commissioned survey of more than 20,000 15-year-old

schoolchildren concluded that a further 26.2 percent held "fairly xenophobic"
attitudes. A proportion of 5.2 percent of teenagers were classified as far-right
because they had racist views, listened to neo-Nazi music, wore corresponding
fashions or had committed a far-right crime, the survey showed. A further 11.5
percent had strong far-right sympathies.
"It was known that the figures were high," German Interior Minister Wolfgang
Schäuble told a news conference on Tuesday. "But I'm appalled that they're this
high."

We are not talking 1930’s numbers here but as the Minister says, any number this
high is troubling. I don’t worry so much about the survey numbers. I’m more
worried about what creeps into the culture – and stays! It takes generations to
weed it out. In the U.S. we are still suffering from post Civil War cultural
remnants. The anti-Semitic remnants in Europe are even more long lasting. Seeing
them grow in Germany in very troubling for us and for the great majority of
Germans.

THE EU:A PUZZLEMENT (FOR MOST OF US)The state of the economy in Germany only
indirectly has an influence on the issues covered in DuBow Digest. However,
whatever affects the economy also affects the social fabric of the country. It,
therefore, does have an impact on the matters we have interest in such as the
level of anti-Semitism and, because of the economy, how Germany deals with the
Middle East.

The EU countries held their Spring Summit at a Brussels meeting 10 days ago to try
to come to some sort of agreement as to what position(s) they should pursue when
the G-20 hold their meeting in April. The latter group, of course, includes the
U.S. Der Spiegel reported “The closing document agreed on by European Union
leaders gathered in Brussels reads like a German wish list. Chancellor Merkel was
able to convince the EU to focus on financial-market regulation -- and to resist
new stimulus programs.
When the heads of the world's leading economies meet at the G-20 summit in London
at the beginning of April, there are bound to be some differences of opinion. But
Steinbrück's (Finance Minister) elation was not entirely unjustified. The closing
document from the EU meeting reads largely like a German wish list

The European Council makes its priorities clear in the 22-page document,
especially when it comes to the financial crisis. Much of it is dedicated to the
Europeans' demand for increased regulation of the financial markets, with passages
devoted to economic stimulus looking truncated by comparison. "Considerable fiscal
stimulus," worth €400 billion, has already been committed to the EU's overall
economy, the Council says -- and placing this point high in the document seems
intended to quell criticism from the US that Europe has been too tentative. Merkel
once again emphasized that Europe has "more than fulfilled" its aims. If you want
to read more, click:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,614621,00.html

How much does each of us know about the EU? Did you know that there is something
called the European Parliament for which there will be German elections in June?
And, how many of us know anything at all about the European Commission, the
Council of Ministers, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European
Central bank and a myriad of other EU agencies? Frankly, I’m no expert, however,
the Germans seem to have at least passing interest and, no doubt, it has some sort
of importance, especially economic, and for that reason alone we should learn a
little more. To start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

P.S. You will probably be hearing more about the European Parliament soon. JTA
reported last week, “Extreme rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen is likely to chair the
European Parliament's first meeting following elections in June.
Le Pen, leader of the French extreme-right National Front party and a member of
the European Parliament since 1984, has been convicted numerous times on charges
of Holocaust denial, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
Usually the sessions of the European Parliament are chaired by the president of
the institution, comprised of directly elected members from the European Union's
27 member states. Traditionally, however, the assembly's inaugural session after
elections, during which its president is elected by the parliamentarians, is led
by the oldest member of the body.
With the lists of candidates for the European Parliament becoming clear as the
ballot approaches, it has also become evident that 80-year-old Le Pen will
probably be the senior member of the Parliament, implying that he will chair the
incoming assembly's first meeting.”

To which I will add a hearty “Oy vey!”

FALL OF THE WALL – 20TH ANNIVERSARY
It’s hard to believe but almost 20 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin
Wall. With the crash of the concrete the whole world changed and the Cold War, for
all intents and purposes, came to an end. For those of you in AJC who visited East
Germany in the 1980’s you can think back and know that you experienced a place and
time that has passed into history.

Germany is beginning to gear up for the 20th anniversary. Der Spiegel reports,
“One of the events that is being planned will be On the 20th anniversary of the
fall of the Berlin Wall, over 1,000 giant dominos will be erected along a section
of the strip that once divided East and West Germany. The dominos will then be
toppled to commemorate the end of the Cold War.”

You’ve got to admit it, the Berliners have novel ideas. “…This November, two
kilometers worth of gigantic dominos will be erected between Berlin's Brandenburg
Gate and Potsdamer Platz along a portion of the strip that once separated East and
West Berlin. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin
Wall, the dominos will be set tumbling and the barrier will collapse in roughly
half an hour's time.”

The path of the Wall runs right past the AJC Berlin Office (Ramer Institute). It
should provide a pretty good view of the “domino effect”. Anyone interested in
making the trip? Let me know. Read more:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,615014,00.html

REHABILITATING NAZI-ERA “TRAITORS”

“Get over it” doesn’t seem to be a phrase that gets any traction in Germany. For
reasons all too apparent, “The War” and “The Holocaust” do not and will not
recede. Currently there is discussion regarding, as Der Spiegel points out,
“Soldiers found guilty of treason by Nazi Germany's military courts have not yet
been rehabilitated, even though their "crimes" were often defending Jews or
criticizing Hitler. Germany's parliament is considering overturning the verdicts,
but a proposed bill is being hampered by party politics.

Why this is the case has more to do with which party is proposing the
rehabilitation than it does with the issue itself. It is complicated but
interesting. You’ll have to read the whole article to find out. However, I mention
it because I think this sort of continued soul searching seems to be a permanent
part of the German public psyche. Self-examination is always a good thing. Read
the whole story: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,604076,00.html

HEINER: A SPECIAL PERSON

In June, as I’ve noted before, the American Jewish Committee and the Konrad
Adenauer Foundation will experience their 29th annual Exchange program. It
“exchanges” a group of young German professionals associated with the Foundation
in one way or another and a group of (not always so young) leadership people from
AJC.
Question! Who has participated in more of these programs than anyone else? The
answer is Heiner Sussebach, the interpreter who accompanies the American group
(the German group members all speak English). This year will be Heiner’s 18th
consecutive year. Born in Germany in 1939, he was educated at Boston University
married a Boston beauty (Jan), became an American citizen, served in the U.S. Army
(of course, in Germany) and eventually returned to Germany to teach interpreters
at the University of the Saarland – while maintaining a home in Piermont, NY.
Heiner is now “retired” and maintains only one job – that being the interpreter
and “jack of all trades” on the “Adenauer Exchange”. He is loved by every AJC’er
who has ever met him and is truly a living example of how to improve American
Jewish – German relations. He and his wife are also close DuBow family friends but
they’re moving to Vermont. We’re sad!
INTERNATIONAL COMMEMORATION DAY FOR HOLOCAUST VICTIMS AT THE BUNDESTAG Leonard
Wien of Miami is one of those unusual American Jewish activists who, when he gets
interested in something, does something about it. A couple of years ago he came to
Germany on the AJC – Adenauer Foundation Exchange program. He got interested in
the fact that some synagogues there needed Torah scrolls. He’s now initiated a
program to see that it happens. He took a group to Germany himself and attended
the Holocaust Victims Memorial service at the Bundestag. He sent me a report. A
part of It follows:

International Commemoration Day for Holocaust Victims at Deutscher Bundestag,

Platz der Republik.
This hour and 15 minute ceremony held in the chamber used by the Bundestag members
was impressive in its thoroughness, the quality of the people who came and those
who did not. The entire government including Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor,
was in attendance. Four young high school students read excerpts from a book which
told of the horrors children experienced during the Holocaust. A musical ensemble
played several appropriate pieces. Several professors addressed the fact that the
National Socialist regime had done horrible things which should never be allowed
again in Germany. These statements were detailed, through, and full of the ways
the German people have tried to rid themselves of racism, anti-Semitism and
xenophobia (an intense dislike of people from other countries).. It was impressive
and very well done. Thanks Leonard.

We should not forget that April 11 is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. If
you want more information about it, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_HaShoah
PERSONAL NOTES
I recently wrote a piece entitled American Jewish Diplomacy & Germany which is a
bit too long for the newsletter. So, I’ve posted it on my website and you can read
it by clicking www.dubowdigest.typepad.com

To my Christian readers I want to wish you a very happy Easter.

To my Jewish readers I wish you a very "Sweet Passover". Stay away from too much
Mahtzohbrei and I certainly hope you're the one who finds the Afikomen.

You can contact me directly by clicking here: CONTACT

See you in mid-April.