German opera chiefs denounce rising anti-semitism
NewsThe twice-yearly meeting of the heads of 13 major German, Austrian and Swiss opera houses was dominated by events in Israel and Gaza.
Opera, said conference chair Susanne Moser of Berlin’s Komische Opera, is ‘affected by the suffering of all civilian victims that were triggered by the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.’
She went on to say: ‘”In this context, we are horrified by the recent anti-Semitic riots here in Germany. Jewish culture was and is an indispensable part of German culture.’ Hamburg State Opera chief Georges Delon added: ‘A common condemnation of anti-Semitism today is fundamental.’
This week marks the 85th anniversary of the all-German pogrom known as Kristallnacht.
Never forget.
I am very afraid that Germany is about to institutionalise forgetting. A story in the Telegraph reports that a kindergarten named for Anne Frank is to be renamed in order to emphasise “self determination and diversity.” It also makes the ludicrous assertion that “the story of Anne Frank was difficult to explain to small children, while immigrant families had “often never heard of her” or her diary about her family’s attempt to remain hidden from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam.” Well, it’s a school. Teach them. If they have elected to come to Germany it’s part of what they damned well ought to hear of.
I learned the story of Anne Frank as a young child. My parents made sure I did. I read the book before I was her age. In secondary school I saw several versions of a play about her — at some point every school seemed to do that play. I saw the movie. Of course I did not know the entire meaning of the young girl’s story when I read her diary at the age of about 10. But time, education, further reading, life, made me very aware of the fuller ramifications of her story.
If ever something exploded the absurdity of “diversity” for what it is — a pandering and nonsensical erasure of real and true history — this does. And the timing is not accidental. This school, and the council supporting the move, and the parents requesting it, have picked sides in the current Mid-east crisis. They are doing it by denying — again — the humanity of a young girl, whose story EVERYONE should know. In Germany.
Anyone who does not find this frightening needs to give himself or herself a shake.
quite!
however, this seems to be an ongoing discussion still, rather than a final decision (worryingly enough) …
today the town council plans to unanimously vote down the name change and instruct the mayor to oppose it:
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/kita-anne-frank-in-sachsen-anhalt-namensanderung-laut-stadtverwaltung-nicht-entschieden–stadtrat-positioniert-sich-dagegen-10737508.html
Thank you. I do not read German, so would appreciate if you would keep us abreast of this — one can only hope the Telegraph will also follow up.
apparently, the idea of a name change has been dropped, the Kindertagesstätte will remain named after Anne Frank:
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/tangerhuette-anne-frank-kita-wird-nicht-weltentdecker-umbenannt-a-33750b3a-b4a5-469c-9be3-7af3bf43a76c
A Kindergarten is not a school in Germany. You read the book at the age of around 10. These kids are 5 or younger, and that makes a difference.
Now, I am all in favor of keeping the name, but I can also imagine the difficulty of telling a child who is 2, 3, 4 years old about the holocaust. Tell me how to do this without traumatizing them (I am not an expert, so please really tell me how to do it).
At any rate, the debate is still ongoing, as Andreas B. pointed out.
How many 2, 3, 4-year olds ask who their school was named after? I certainly do not think children that age should be getting told about the Holocaust. but it is not they who are angling for name change: it is their parents. Many of whom, it appears, may not know who Anne Frank was because they are immigrant (and perhaps would not much care about her if they knew is the implication of their objection). Others may well know, and for only one possible reason I can think of, disapprove of the name. I do not think their objections should be catered to.
As I said, I am all in favor of keeping the name, even though I’d prefer an Anne Frank Highschool (of which there are quite a number in Germany) instead of an Anne Frank Kindergarten.
Reporting on this whole debate was not exactly oversaturated with details. So, we are both speculating here. But is it really impossible to imagine for even a small child to simply ask “who is Anne Frank”? I would not know how to answer this in an age appropriate manner…