Holocaust binds Germans and Jews, German consul tells Portlanders

By Paul Haist

Germany's consul general for the western United States says he never met a Jew while growing up in a small town in Germany.

"My first encounter with Jewish life was as a tourist to Israel," said Rolf E. Schtte.

Schtte addressed a luncheon gathering of Portland Jewish leaders at the Governor Hotel April 26. The event was sponsored by the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

The insular character of Schtte's postwar childhood—he was born in 1953—would change dramatically when, as an adult, he embarked on a career of diplomatic service for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Among his early assignments was a stretch at Germany's embassy in Tel Aviv. Later, he was named deputy director for Middle East affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When, some years later, he was granted a sabbatical from his diplomatic duties, he took a busman's holiday to New York where he was hosted at the American Jewish Committee headquarters as a visiting fellow. During that time he authored the monograph "German-Jewish Relations, Today and Tomorrow."

In Portland, Schtte's topic was much the same.

He divides German-Jewish relations into three categories: relations between Germany and Israel, relations between Germany and American Jews and relations between non-Jewish Germans and Jewish Germans.

He said the three categories share one thing in common, the Holocaust.

"It separates and binds Germans and Jews like no other two peoples," said Schtte. "The Holocaust is a subject Germans and Jews don't usually talk about, but is always thought about."

Schtte thinks about it and talks about it.

He said polls have found that 90 percent of Germans today know what happened. He pointed to Holocaust memorials in many German cities—including the new large memorial in Berlin, and extensive continuing media discussion of the era—including a recent cover story on the Nuremburg War Crimes Trials in the influential magazine Der Spiegel.

"So it is in the public discussion," he said.

Schtte further divides into three groups rank-and-file, non-Jewish German response to their awareness of their country's Nazi past.

What he called "the radical right-wing fringe, the neo-Nazis," comprise about 5 percent of Germans, he said, many of whom belong to what he called "a kind of neo-Nazi party," the NPD, which attracted 1.6 percent of the vote in recent elections.

This group, he said, "knows the past, but tries to deny or belittle it for their own political ends."

At the other end of the spectrum Schtte grouped about 20 percent of non-Jewish Germans who feel "personal guilt" for the Holocaust, which, he added, may arise in part from a sense of political correctness.

In the middle, he said, are the majority of non-Jewish Germans, about 75 percent, who feel "some kind of collective shame, but no personal guilt" for the Holocaust.

He noted that Jewish life in Germany is thriving.

"The Jewish community in Germany is the fastest growing (Jewish community) in the world, even more than in Israel in recent years," said Schtte.

It is mostly an immigrant community, he said, comprising two significant waves. The first was right after the end of World War II. The second wave came with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Schtte, citing an AJC poll, said that German-Israeli relations are not widely understood in America, but that the relationship is very important in Israel.

He noted that "many Israelis say Germany, after the United States, is Israel's most important partner."

He pointed to close economic ties between the two countries and Germany's leadership in recurring efforts to win the release of hostage Israel soldiers.

In spite of Germany's reluctance since World War II to rely on military force, Schtte said, "If Israel needs help, we are there."

Of U.S. Jews, Schtte said, "The Jewish people I meet here are somewhat different than people I meet in Israel," although he did not elaborate.

With Portland Jews, Schtte answered questions and discussed topics ranging from German policy toward Iran to assisted suicide.

Arden Shenker noted that Germany is Iran's "single largest creditor," to which Schtte replied Germany has "no national foreign trade policy; it's all decided by the EU."

The diplomat cautioned that different nations must weigh different considerations in coming to policy decisions.

"The U.S. has nothing to lose because it has no trade with Iran," he said.

Specifically regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions Schtte said, "There is no distinction in this case between the German, European and American positions?We know it is a vital threat and everything has to be done to stop them from getting the bomb." He favored continuation of sanctions against Iran and said he saw small signs that they were having an effect.

The subject of assisted suicide, which is legal in the United States only in the state of Oregon, came up in the context of the lingering influence of Germany's Nazi experience.

"Assisted suicide in Germany is always seen through the lens of the Nazi's euthanasia policies," said Schtte. "So, yes, our past informs our decisions today."