In the run-up to the fifth anniversary of the anti-Semitic and racist terrorist attack in Halle (Saale), I was asked in a radio interview why the door that saved my parishioners from extinction is now a memorial on the synagogue grounds. According to criticism, this means there is a lack of accessibility for the public.
The answer was easy for me. Where we living Jews do not make ourselves visible in public, the perpetrators look for “Jewish” objects, such as cemeteries, memorial plaques and even stumbling blocks, in order to live out their violent anti-Semitism. Less than a week later, in the town of Zeitz, not far from Halle, all the stumbling blocks were torn out of the ground and stolen. Zeitz is in the Burgenland district. A region without a Jewish community or any other form of Jewish structure. But there were stumbling blocks.
After a few days’ delay, this disgusting act reached nationwide attention. Most recently, images circulated of violent right-wing extremists from Zeitz who tried to disrupt the CSD there on August 31, 2024. Now this report about the stolen stumbling blocks, and I have to honestly say that it had little effect on me around October 7th and October 9th. Because in the run-up to these two sad anniversaries, I shielded myself emotionally, or literally sharpened myself, so as not to let the expected new anti-Semitic incidents get to me.
But I was positively surprised by the decisive reaction of the district administrator of the Burgenland district, Götz Ulrich (CDU): “This act is unforgivable and can never be excused. Anyone who does this also wants to tear the Holocaust out of our culture of remembrance. The greatest crime against humanity of all time must always remain a reminder to us of what people are capable of and what Germans were capable of. The stones must be replaced immediately. Financial resources are required for this. I therefore call for donations for new stones.« (Press release from the district)
Here someone is not directly affected, but clearly in solidarity. Here someone not only finds the right words, but also presents a non-partisan fundraising campaign to counteract the idea of this act. Especially in these days when there is no shortage of beautiful words from politics, this is a ray of hope in a very dark environment that many people should take as an example.
Here is the donation account: Sparkasse Burgenlandkreis, IBAN: DE18 8005 3000 1131 0704 41, BIC: NOLADE21BLK
