Tuesday, October 23, 2012

German Jewish Leader: 'Jews Don't Need Any Tutoring in Democracy'

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Ahead of her 80th birthday, Charlotte Knobloch, one of Germany's most prominent Jewish leaders, talks with SPIEGEL about her relationship with the country, her outrage over the recent circumcision debate and the former housemaid in Bavaria who saved her from the Nazis.

Anyone who visits Charlotte Knobloch at the Jewish Center in Munich must first pass through security and be checked by guards. Since 1985, Knobloch has been the head of the Jewish community in Munich, and from 2006 to 2010, she was the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Next Monday, she will turn 80 years old. Knobloch says she doesn't want to be the focus of attention, but allowed herself to be persuaded to publish her memoirs, released in German on Monday by the DVA publishing house under the title "In Deutschland angekommen," or "Arriving in Germany." In an interview with SPIEGEL, she discusses her relationship with the country and her outrage over the recent debate over the legality of circumcision. » |Interview conducted by Susanne Beyer. Translated from the German by Paul Cohen. | Monday, October 22, 2012