German Bundestag celebrates Holocaust Remembrance Day | Voice of America

A German Holocaust survivor called on the legislature on Wednesday at a special session of the German Bundestag to “take care of our country”.

Charlotte Knobloch, 88, told lawmakers that life for Jews in Germany is far from normal, almost eight decades after the Nazis murdered 6 million European Jews in the Holocaust – another name for the Holocaust.

Knobloch also warned of the fragility of democracy and called on lawmakers to protect the achievements of the past few decades for Jews and non-Jews and to defend Germany against extremists. She said right-wing extremism is the greatest threat of all.

The session was held to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 76 years after the Soviet Army liberated the Auschwitz extermination camp in occupied Poland.

At one point in her speech, Ms. Knobloch spoke to members of the Alternative für Deutschland political party, the largest opposition group in parliament with almost 100 seats. She accused many of the group’s members of adopting the Nazi tradition.

“I’m telling you – you lost your fight 76 years ago,” Knobloch said. “You will continue to fight for your Germany and we will continue to fight for our Germany.”

Knobloch is the former leader of the 200,000 German-Jewish community that survived the Holocaust.

Marina Weisband, a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine who also warned of the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Germany, was also present.

In the presence of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other officials, Rabbi Shaul Nekrich wrote the last 12 letters of the Sulzbacher Torah scroll, one of the oldest Torah scrolls in Germany.

Since 1996, Germany has officially celebrated Holocaust Remembrance Day every January 27 with a solemn ceremony in the Bundestag, a speech by a survivor and commemorations throughout the country.

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