"The End of German Jewry"

DW-WORLD: The 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz takes place on January 27th. What is the meaning of this event in the eyes of Jewish people?

W. Michael Blumenthal: Auschwitz has become a symbol for German and Jewish history of the murders perpetrated by the Nazis. It is a catchword -- but the murders happened in many places and over a period of several years. If you ask me, and I don't mean to play down its meaning, the liberation of Auschwitz has more of a symbolic value.

Do you think that the memory of the Holocaust is slowly dying away along with the few remaining witnesses?

Of course. The death of these witnesses will also affect the quality of the memory. Everything will just be passed down second-hand but I think it will always remain an important part of German history. Young people are still extremely interested in the background of the Holocaust but people will begin to think differently about the responsibility this piece of history carries with it for Germans. The responsibility will remain but people have to be able to differentiate between guilt and responsibility. The current generation is not guilty for the acts of their ancestors but there is a national responsibility. I think people will continue to remember this.

How have the memories of the Holocaust changed in Germany over the years?

When I came back to Germany for the first time in 1953, the country was traumatized by the past. Germans didn't want to and couldn't talk about it. There were still many Nazis, even in important positions. The people felt guilty but weren't able to express this guilt. Everyone was working on rebuilding the country. The younger generation of the 1970's changed this a little. Today, I am satisfied with how honestly Germans try to deal with the past, and try, as far as they can, to bear the consequences.

What do you think was the meaning of the end of World War II for German-Jewish history?

That was the end of German Jewry as it had been known in the decades and centuries before. The German-Jews that I knew as a child, and those of my parents', grandparents' and great-grandparents' generation were a real community inside German society and after the war, that was over.

What meaning does the end of the war have for Jews outside of Germany who were not directly affected?

I think that left a deep mark on those who witnessed the atrocities of the Nazis from afar. The murder of millions of Jewish brothers and sisters has become a part of Jewish history.Every university here in the US concerns itself with this part of history, and the meaning is firmly anchored in the minds of young Jewish students.

What do Jews in the US today think about the end of the war?

I think that's very personal and individual. But I believe that above all, the following conclusion can be drawn from these events: You can never be sure that anti-Semitism won't take on a horrible shape. That's why we have to be very careful when there is just a small spark of anti-Semitism anywhere and act against it. Like in the Middle East. Frequently, anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli sentiments are mixed and raised -- even in Europe and Germany. Jews around the world are justified in their worry. World War II finally made it clear to me and all Jews that this anti-Semitism was the terrible result of persecution that has lasted 2000 years.

Do you think that relations between Germans and German Jews will ever be normalized without the memories of the Holocaust being forgotten?

"Normalization" is the wrong word here. The relations between Jews and non-Jews in Germany were never normal. It would be better to ask in Germany if there will ever be a time where a German non-Jew can view a German Jew 100 percent as a human being and not think it's important if someone is a Jew or a Christian or whatever. It will take a long time. The Nazi atrocities certainly make it difficult.