Language:
German
Year of publication:
1991
Titel der Quelle:
Tribüne; Zeitschrift zum Verständnis des Judentums
Angaben zur Quelle:
119 (1991) 140-150
Keywords:
Germany (East) Foreign relations
;
Israel Foreign relations
;
Israel Foreign relations
Abstract:
Analyzes the ideological, political, and economic causes for East German opposition to Israel, and traces its history. As a socialist, anti-fascist state, East Germany saw itself as free of racism in the present and of guilt for Nazi crimes in the past. Initial support for the Jewish state turned ca. 1952 (and even more strongly after 1967) to hostility, expressed in propaganda and the arrest of suspected Zionists. Until the mid-1980s the East Germans also refused to discuss reparations for victims of Nazism. "Perestroika" and recognition of the importance of the State of Israel in the Near East led to meetings with Jewish leaders, and to some recognition of East Germany's share in guilt for the Holocaust. The anniversary of the "Kristallnacht" pogrom in 1988 was marked by ceremonies and newspaper articles; however, these caused an antisemitic backlash, especially among young people. In the last half-year of its existence, East Germany issued a number of declarations in favor of better relations with the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
Note:
Another version appeared in "Israel und Deutschland" (2002).
URL:
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