Speaker discusses Germany trip

Israel Bonds Chairperson Susan Weikers-Volchok spoke to a group of 70 students in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall yesterday about post-Holocaust relations between Jews and Germans. "I don't think forgetting [the Holocaust] is something we should or could do," Volchok said in her opening remarks. "But it is important for Germany and us as Jews to forge relationships." Volchok recently served as a delegate to Germany as part of a program sponsored by the Konrad Adneauer Foundation. The foundation was formed in memory of the German Chancellor of that name and seeks to promote relations between Germany and Jews in the diaspora -- a body of Jewish communities outside of modern Israel. "We met with the Vice Chancellor, mayors and the American and Israeli ambassadors and were told to be very candid when questioning what we saw," Volchok said. What she saw pointed the way toward a brighter future for Jews in Germany, she said. "The Jews in Germany are angry not at the Germans, but at the Jews in the diaspora who have written them off," Volchok said. "They are sick of being repeatedly asked how they can possibly live in Germany. To them it is home." She said Germany is at a crossroads in its relationship with Israel and Jews around the world. "Germany is a young country coming out of something horrible and trying to find its way," Volchok said. "As many of you know, it is popular at academic institutions to deny that the Holocaust occurred. Well, Germany recently passed a law making it a federal offense to write anything that denies the Holocaust." Despite these positive signs, Volchok pointed out that Jewish people still cannot assume that the past will remain the past. "It is simply too soon to be normal," she said. "Maybe in two or three generations Jews around the world will be able to feel normal. For now though, when I am asked what more the Germans can do besides saying sorry, I answer that I simply do not know." Volchok added she was not immune to the anti-Semitic undercurrents that continue to pervade German society. One German she encountered pointed out that "if Israel had existed back in 1933, the Germans would not have had to kill the Jews because they could simply have expelled them to Israel." "When I left, I still had very ambivalent feelings," Volchok said as she concluded. "The real challenge we face is to remember the Holocaust and at the same time allow the younger generation of Germans to develop their country." After the talk, which was sponsored by the Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Program, many students expressed a newfound desire to explore this issue for themselves. "I never really thought much about going to Germany," College junior Joyce Cohen said. "Now I really want to go so I can form my own opinion." Others said they believe Germany is in a tough position as it attempts to reconcile its past with its desire to use nationalism to build a new unified Germany. "It is important to educate the younger generation in Germany about what happened," College senior Robyn Lesser said. "However, it cannot reach the point where this education stifles their ability to move ahead."