(28.12.2020) Mayor Peter Feldmann awarded the City Elder Christian Raabe the Hessian Order of Merit on Wednesday, December 23rd. The lawyer was a long-time member of the city council and had represented the accessory prosecution in the Auschwitz trial.
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Christian Raabe receives the Hessian Order of Merit from Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann Photo: City of Frankfurt
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Raabe was a member of the city council from 1968 to 1972 and from 1981 to 1997. The social democrat, who joined the SPD as a student in 1959, quickly gained a reputation as a sharp-tongued speaker in the local parliament. After his legal exams, Raabe joined a law firm in Frankfurt that represented Holocaust victims as joint plaintiffs in the Auschwitz trial. As a 29-year-old lawyer, Raabe himself took part in the proceedings, which lasted from 1963 to 1965 and made German legal history. He regularly reported in public about his memories – especially the harrowing testimony of the Auschwitz survivors.
“Christian Raabe’s life’s work is part of Frankfurt’s democratic history. His longstanding work in the city council and his commitment to the victims of the Holocaust during the Auschwitz process stand out in particular. It stands for democracy and enlightenment. I myself remember conversations with him during our time together as city councilors, which were always an enrichment for me. Therefore, I am particularly pleased to be able to present him with this award. ”Due to the current Corona conditions, the ceremony took place in an improvised setting in the garden of Raabe’s house. (ffm)
