UPDATE: Comments 2 and 3 below note that the school will not be renamed and that the renaming was only tentative. However, I have to add that the school itself, according to the Torygraph, announced the name change, so I was not distorting the news I knew at the time. I’m going to let the rest of the post stand as I wrote it before I heard the updated news as an example of the kind of anti-Jewish thinking that’s becoming more pervasive in Europe.
**********
Well, the world gave Israel about three days of pity before the lauding of and sympathy for Israel (and the Jews) ended and the celebration of Hamas and Palestine began. Israel was already binned before it began defending itself.
And nowhere in the West is the noise louder than in Germany, for crying out loud! The video below came in Tom Goss’s latest newsletter with the note:
In Berlin (this video is from Saturday) as in London, Paris & US cities, the ‘Arab street’ has arrived in the West:
Note the chant “Free, free Palestine!” That’s a lot of people, and much as I’d like to believe it, I don’t think this demonstration is completely free from hatred of Jews or from the desire to eliminate the state of Israel.
This latest announcement from Germany in the Torygraph, though, really takes the cake. Click to read, and if it’s paywalled read the archived link here:
The details:
A German kindergarten has said it will drop Anne Frank from its name in favour of a “more diverse” alternative, adding fuel to the national debate over anti-Semitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The kindergarten in the village of Tangerhütte, in eastern Germany, said it was rebranding itself “world explorer kindergarten” in order to be more inclusive.
The name change ends half a century of association with the Jewish 15-year-old who died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.
“We wanted a name without a political background,” Linda Schichor, the kindergarten’s director, told a local newspaper.
Ms Schichor said that the story of Anne Frank was difficult to explain to small children, while immigrant families had “often never heard of her” or her diary about her family’s attempt to remain hidden from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam.
The reasons for renaming are arrant lies. Why is “world explorer kindergarten” more inclusive? Because it has the name “world” in it but excludes a Jew? The real reason, of course—you don’t need many neurons to see this—is that they want to erase Anne Frank from history, first by claiming that her story is “too difficult to explain to small children”, second that her story was “political” (no, it was historical and a memorial), and, of course, the third and main reason—that the story was “political”—is a shameful and reprehensible lie. What Ms. Schichor is trying to hide is that Anne Frank was Jewish, and her story demonstrates the persecution of the Jews, with Frank standing for six million. The name honors her and history, and now those kids will never get the chance to ask, “Who was Anne Frank?” And that’s what Schichor and her supporters want.
Here’s more shameful excuse-making:
A representative of the local council backed the move, saying that the name change was part of a “conceptual overhaul” that would see that kindergarten put more emphasis on the “self determination and diversity” of the children in its care.
“Conceptual overhaul” here translates as “it’s time to stop thinking abut the historical oppression of the Jews.” But some sane people are pushing back:
Christoph Heubner, the deputy head of the International Auschwitz Committee, appealed for the name change decision to be reversed in a letter sent to the local council.
“If one is prepared to forget one’s own history so easily, especially in these times of renewed anti-Semitism and Right-wing extremism, one can only feel fear and anxiety about the culture of remembrance in our country,” he said.
Germany’s leading conservative newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine, dedicated its opinion pages on Monday to asking the “disturbing question” of whether the story of Anne Frank “should no longer bother us”.
Pity that defending Israel puts you in bed with conservatives, for, weirdly, it’s become a Left-wing habit to call for eliminating the Jewish state and even to laud Hamas, as Black Lives Matter Chicago and the Democratic Socialists of America did. Instead, many “liberals” defend a society that elects terrorists and obeys a religion that is antiliberal, anti-woman, anti-gay, and anti-democratic.
The return of antisemitism to Germany is, frankly, scary. More from the Torygraph tale:
Jewish organisations have raised concerns in recent months about growing anti-Semitism from both the far-Right and immigrant communities from the Middle East.
Germany’s Central Council of Jews has warned that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is polling at over 20 per cent, “embodies Nazi ideals”.
Senior figures in the AfD have played down the crimes of the Nazi era, with one leader calling it “a bird sh-t” on German history, while others have questioned why there is a memorial to the Holocaust in the centre of Berlin.
The name change debate comes against the backdrop of a surge in anti-Semitic crime in some of Germany’s largest cities in the wake of Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel.
Stars of David have been daubed on Jewish homes, a molotov cocktail has been thrown at a synagogue in Berlin and Jews have reportedly been mocked on the streets after the terror group’s deadly cross-border raid, which provoked Israel to launch a major offensive in Gaza.
Seriously, do you think this reflects only criticism of Israel’s invasion of Gaza and attempt to wipe out Hamas? Why are Germany’s Jews harassed for what Israel did? Check your neurons.
Here’s a video critical of the name change; it’s from GBNews, which I’ve never heard of.
h/t: Ben
I’m reading Anne Frank’s diary right now for the first time because of this website. I’m at about February 1944.
Thanks to everyone who brought the diary up in our discourse. I think Sastra and of course, Le PCC(E) Formidable (that’s some humor for Paris).
Ideologues can play their games but important literature will only grow stronger because of it.
Influence of the political Islam is Growing for years. Critics are condemned as Islamophobes. Now, the leftist cannot ignore the reality anymore (although many will do so).
It’s worth mentioned that the city council rejected the renaming now.
Islam is the “fifth column “ weaving its insidious way into liberal democratic countries.
Islamophobia, the most over and incorrectly used word of the century. Ignore Islam at our peril. The only religion to get complete freedom to do what it wants with the full knowledge that no criticism is allowed.
“The only religion to get complete freedom to do what it wants with the full knowledge that no criticism is allowed.”
I assume you’re describing England or Europe in general. But your statement could just as easy describe Christianity in America. When it comes to the media or politics, Christianity criticism is verboten. The Christian theocracy movement is alive and well in the US. Look no further than the current SCOTUS, the majority groomed by the Federalist Society; they’re all on board with American Theocracy.
Are you kidding?? You can get away with saying anything you want against Christianity, no matter how derogatory, in nearly any mainstream media outlet or social media site.
Sure, you can say what you want against Christianity, but do politicians or the MSM et al., ever do? Of course not…I guess I should have wrote “verboten,” since you can do it legally, but no one with high visibility does. And have you checked out the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 project- their plan on what to do if Trump gets reelected? Summary: Dictator Trump. Read it and weep…unless you’re in the MAGA cult, of course.
It’s important to realize that the city council passed a resolution objecting to the renaming. The renaming is not their decision, though. This is an expression of their disagreement with the decision, not an overturning of it. As far as I can tell, the name change is moving forward.
“Anne Frank’s name erased from a German kindergarten to ‘increase diversity'”
The title is misleading, because her name has not yet been erased, and there is now a press release by the city of Tangerhütte stating that there is an ongoing discussion, but “the decision of a name change isn’t currently on the agenda”:
Source: https://www.tangerhuette.de/de/aktuelles/kita-anne-frank-entscheidung-einer-namensaenderung-steht-aktuell-nicht-an.html
The title is not misleading because I went by the Torygraph’s report, which didn’t say it was tentative. However, I’ll correct the body of the text to reflect this new development. Thanks!
Totally disgraceful – the world’s gone mad.
it’s from GBNews, which I’ve never heard of
GB News is mostly a lighter version of Fox TV (Boris Johnson has just been signed up as a presenter – he joins four other Tory MPs, I think).
GB News hasn’t helped itself by breaching the rules on broadcasting here in the UK several times since its launch. However, for all its faults, it does host Andrew Doyle’s “Free Speech Nation” every evening, which provides a platform for pro-women’s rights campaigners, such as Helen Joyce, who appear to be almost entirely banned from mainstream TV channels.
I’ve only watched Doyle’s show and can’t comment on the rest of the channel’s output. Unlike many of the other GB News presenters, he’s too smart, and too committed to free speech, to fall foul of the regulations, I suspect. I can’t help wishing that he would be offered a similar slot by the BBC, because a bigger audience needs to hear his guests.
Yeah, that’s some crazy politics Anne Frank engaged in.. trying to stay alive and all. So she’s been banished to the “oppressor” half of the binary a bunch of “non-binaries” created.. if Anne Frank wasn’t oppressed, I don’t know who was.
Well she had to enter the ranks of “oppressor” white, female and Jewish, what else would be expected in this lunatic period?
Anne Frank is a perfectly good name for a kindergarten in Germany. When little kids ask where the name came from, it’s not difficult to explain in an age-appropriate way, and it helps children learn right from wrong. It’s hard to say exactly what the motivation is, but it’s probable that the school district (or however the school is governed) wants *not* to have to explain the Holocaust.
It’s unfortunate. That said, I was very pleased to hear (read) the speech in support of Israel given by the German Vice-Chancellor the other day: https://www.dw.com/en/german-vice-chancellor-speaks-out-on-antisemitic-incidents/video-67290547.
“When little kids ask where the name came from, it’s not difficult to explain in an age-appropriate way,”
It would be perhaps essential to note, no matter what she wrote about (I’m not downplaying it though), that she used the tool of writing – expression in written form of “thoughts and feelings ; otherwise, I’d absolutely suffocate.”
Quoting Anne Frank, 16 March 1944 (I have to verify later – I’m up to Febbruary).
A casual glance at things suggests this would help immensely – writing as a way to personally benefit by understanding what you think – vs. handing it in to get a score, credit, or admission to a university (for instance).
Yes indeed. Portraying a young girl writing about her experiences would be a great way to introduce children to the power of writing—and would tell children that they, too, can express themselves through writing.
I just got to 4 April 1944 (p.196 in this copy) and was compelled to share this excerpt with anyone – truncated a bit but not to belittle, and bold added, I’m not sure of the publication details – I think the length is worth it :
“I am the best and sharpest critic of my own work. I know myself what is and what is not well written. Anyone who doesn’t write doesn’t know how wonderful it is;[…] And if I haven’t any talent for writing books or newspaper articles, well, then I can always write for myself.
[…]
I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me.
I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, for I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals and my fantasies.”
I mean, just let that sink in…
Writing – a gift for the development of one’s self… what are the chances, if one thing could really do something good in the world…
It’s worth more than all the cheap nostrums pitched by “real neuroscientists” in the world and it’s available to everyone all the time (sort of).
Be careful not to conflate Thueringen and Sachsen with the rest of Germany. For some reason, 40 years of Soviet influence has outweighed centuries of history in those two German states.
On 10/12/2023, I sat in a memorial service for Willi Graf, executed 10/12/1943 for resistance to the Nazi regime. Cardinal Marx incorporated Willi Graf’s resistance with words encouraging German Catholics – indeed, all Germans – to stand up to Hamas same as WG had resisted Nazis. I heard ***that*** message far more frequently while in Munich and Oberbayern than any other.
Wish I understood how Soviet thought has stayed so engrained in former DDR. It’s a poison.
But Berlin, where the big march was, isn’t in one of those two states.
And on 10/22/2023, there was a pro-Israel march at the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin).
Berlin is unique. There are more Muslims in Berlin than Catholics (8-11%, or around 350,000). Catholics only make up 9% of population.
Berlin was also largely part of the Soviet bloc for those same 40 years. Not part of Thueringen-Sachsen, but subject to same antisemitic Soviet rhetoric (which continues to this day in Russia and countries loyal to Putin).
And yet Berlin also has a thriving Jewish population. It is not a city that is easily defined.
This link takes you to the kind of speech I heard from 10/7-10/18/2023 while I was in Germany – from BOTH of the major political parties (CDU/CSU and SPD) and from both Landeskirchen (Lutheran and Catholic).
https://www.erzbistum-muenchen.de/news/bistum/Kardinal-Marx-Terror-der-Hamas-klar-verurteilen-45129.news
GB News is a new British TV channel founded by a Brexit funding multi-millionaire. It seems to have adopted the role of a British Fox News. Many of its presenters are current or former right-wing Tory politicians. It has already fallen foul of media regulators on a number of occasions. It has been reported that Boris Johnson is going to join as a presenter next year.
Many of Britains woes are due to Brexit (not all, of course), if only food prices (not important if you have some good disposable income, but a worry if you have not). I think it is high time for “Brejoin”.
The ‘deplatforming’ of Anne Frank is profoundly unconscionable, IMMO, and it strongly reeks (not to say stinks) of anti-semitism.
The thing is, many European countries have large minorities of Muslims, and appear to bend over backwards to accommodate even their most outrageous claims.
I have little patience for these groups, since they show no patience for others at all, to put it mildly.
Completely agree about Brexit. It was a massive mistake which – I hasten to add – I did not vote for. Also agree about Anne Frank; how are children to learn about man’s inhumanity to man (It’s usually men) if we don’t learn from history.
It used to be expected that immigrants would assimilate and learn about the history of whatever country they chose to live in. Europe has been experiencing increasing problems for years because so many have stopped doing so. One would think that the Germans would want to make their history better known especially to immigrants. But the latter are over 25% of the German population now.
Germany has the third-highest number of international migrants worldwide, behind the United States and Saudi Arabia.
As of 2022, there were 118,000 Jews in Germany. Contrast that with 3,236,000 resident foreign nationals from Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran (in decreasing order) along with 10,000,000 from other countries as of the end of last year. There are more Iranians in Germany than Jews.
So the anti-Semitism, while deplorable, is not surprising.
(Sources:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-population-of-the-world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Germany
)
Hubris led the EU to assume that the migrants would want to assimilate. Or even that they see themselves as migrants. It makes more sense to see them as colonizers, or part of an invading force. I have seen quite a few interviews with the new arrivals where they seem to see themselves in that light.
Yep. The one place we need the decolonization activists, they’re in the streets with the real colonizers….
In my experience, it’s not what Germans want. I moved to Germany several years ago and attended several language courses (including the integration course) here. I learned almost nothing about German history or culture from them. Which was surprising to me, because when I learned English, the textbooks were completely different.
I listen to the German news every day (dradio.de) and my impression is that 90% of antisemitism at present is coming from a tiny but very vocal (and active, extremist) fraction of the huge, HUGE, islamic community in Germany, in response to what’s happening in Israel/Gaza. (Depending on where you look, the statistic is over 2.5 million refugees in Germany – that’s counting the official ones – most are from the middle east)
This is not to disclaim that there’s always been some “native” German anti-semitism (a remnant if you will) since WWII, especially in the Eastern part of Germany, but you can find such anti-semites anywhere in the world.
So, I think the present wave of anti-semitism is clearly coming from the Islamic immigrant/refugee communities (the irony!). I do think it is shameful that the kindergarten is “erasing” Anne Frank’s name, but it is almost forgiveable given the present turbulence in Germany. Probably the honest reason for it is that the administrators of that kindergarten don’t want to risk attracting violent attention from the above mentioned population of islamic extremists. Their responsibility is the safety of the children… but woe to any such administration, that might suggest the danger is coming from “outsiders”! Maybe after all this has blown over, Anne Frank’s name will return to that place.
Germany is in a pitiable situation: it has welcomed large numbers of oppressed people from the middle east, not least because Germans feel the need to make up for their sad, hateful, and violent history (i.e. WWII and the Nazis and the Shoa). And so they should! But the populations that they’ve welcomed into the country tend towards anti-semitism, which is of course contrary to the modern German Purpose (Staatsraison) of assisting and protecting Israel (as first voiced by chancellor Merkel in 2008, and recently repeated by chancellor Scholz).
I can envisage a very distressing situation in Germany, where for the protection of the peace, people of middle eastern descent, of recent arrival in the country, will need somehow to be kept away from Jewish people, to the point of using force.
Re:
This comments comes close to saying that Jyllands-Posten shouldn’t have published the Danish cartoons, or Charlie Hebdo its own satire, because it would “attract violent attention.” You really want to be cowed by this kind of fear? And “almost forgivable”?? Seriously? No, we should stand up for what we think is right and should not censor ourselves for fear of religious ire. Do you think Salman Rushdie’s publisher’s shouldn’t have put out The Satanic Verses?
To publish patently provocative material is a choice that adults can and should make, as was done at Charlie Hebdo or the Jyllands-Posten. But the Anne Frank Kita is full of small children, and the admins of the place are trying to keep them safe. That the admins of the Kita cannot say, “this is to keep the kids safe,” is simply the result of a very woke, p.c. culture presently predominant in Germany (just as in USA academia), which prohibits them from mentioning the danger, let alone pointing to the source of it. Whilst the proposal to rename the Anne Frank Kita looks anti-semitic on the surface, I believe the motivation has a fundamentally different foundation – functionally, would renaming the Kita be any different from erasing a star of david, that some extremist has painted onto your apartment building entrance?
Chuck out the antisemites who aren’t German citizens and send them back to where they came from. If it was a shit-hole country, well, it sucks to be them. Leave the kindergarten alone.
You cannot tell people to ‘go back to where they came from’ – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/03/tory-mp-bob-stewart-racial-hostility-activist-court-told
If they are not citizens, and don’t behave well, I think that one can and should tell them to go back. To me, it is unbelievable how wary Germany was of us Eastern Europeans right until our countries became EU members, and at the same time so welcoming of people from cultures that generally don’t share European values. Being accepted in a prosperous, well-run country is a privilege and not a right. I have read this in plenty of forms shoved into my face by officials of such countries.
Sure you can. You just have to change the law. But that means you have to want to.
If you like, you can tell private citizens they can’t say that. But the government can still do. Parliament is supreme. It can pass any law it wants to.
Perhaps Israel should not have responded to the October 7 massacre because it would similarly “attract violent attention.”
Do you realize how much disinformation you have spread, by not understanding both the specific issue, the broader issue, and the context? Would seriously recommend you take down this entire post before your readers make it even worse.
Not going to take down the post aned would appreciate it if you don’t tell me how to run this site. I guess you are the only one who understands the Torygraph article and its “context”. As for the accusation that I’m spreading disinformation by quoting the mainstream media and reacting to it, I reject that accusation. You’re new here, so apparently you haven’t read the posting rules about being rude but also arrogant.
Well, you know, the mass murder of Jews is a divisive issue. Some support it, some don’t.
Wait, they want to change the name “Anne Frank,” which is somehow too political and lacks diversity (white?) to “World Explorers?” You mean like Columbus and Balboa and all the brave Europeans who weren’t afraid to go out to discover new lands, name them, and claim them for their sovereigns?
Yeah, that’s a safe alternative. Unlikely those worried about diversity will find anything to object to with this choice.
They may have been thinking of Dora the Explorer.
The kindergarten director’s suggestion that the name-change is motivated by a desire to be more inclusive and non-political is either extremely disingenuous or extremely ignorant, because the proposed alternative name, which involves the German word “Weltentdecker”, is itself problematic. Although translated as “world explorers”, it actually derives from the German verb for “to discover”, an idea which, in the Anglophone world at least, is both emotionally and politically charged for a great many indigenous communities in North America and the Pacific. Try telling them for instance that their lands were “discovered” by Columbus or Cook, and you’ll see what I mean.
But those lands were discovered by Columbus and Cook. From the point of view of Columbus’s and Cook’s society, those lands were not known by anyone to exist. After their voyages, they were. The fact that people lived there, as they did in every continent except Antarctica, was not likely to have been a surprise to Cook and Columbus. And some things we did discover were not known even to indigenous peoples living close by them. Like lobsters. And Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains.
Anglophone rule over indigenous peoples in the Americas and Africa was more enlightened than that of speakers of French, Flemish, Dutch, Spanish, and German. (And Italian if you include the invasion of Ethiopia in 1937.) No need to single us out.
Of course Anne Frank’s memory should be left on the kindergarten.
…., hmmm, the indigenous peoples didn’t know they were there until they were discovered to be there… at the very least for them, relative to anywhere else.
“So, this is where we are!”
I would have thought (sometimes I do) an simple explanation for kindygarden children regards to Anne Frank,
“she was a brave young girl who wrote a book of her life and times, she is an inspiration to us ALL”.
Particularly the Flemish who have the most violent history of abuse in their African Colonies.
The British were by far and away the least evil colonial country although one would never think so in this current period of complete ignorance of history. The British suffered much worse under the Romans and Scandinavians compared to that which they imposed on their colonies.
Framing discovery solely on the basis of an overarching POV is a stretch. If humans were already there, sorry, the dude in the boat didn’t discover it. Yours is a semantic argument. Also, this:
“And some things we did discover were not known even to indigenous peoples living close by them. Like lobsters.”
Huh? Total nonsense. Here’s a rule of thumb: if lobsters happen to “live somewhere on earth next to humans,” they’ll be a food source for any human, anywhere in the world, for thousands of years. This also includes the Americas and the Eastern NA seaboard: Maine, Mass., Connecticut. There is plenty of archeological evidence of lobster shells, clams etc. dating back 2,000 years. I’m sure the colonists enabled lobster fishing further out, better technology for sure, but they didn’t reveal a new food source the locals didn’t know about.
And your assertion about the discovery of “Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains.” He had help from the Shuswap tribe btw (his guides for many moons). But he “discovered” something the locals had not use for and weren’t looking for. Why would the Shuswap waste their time “discovering” a logistical pass through those mountains? That wasn’t advantageous to their survival…they didn’t need railroads and they didn’t need to discover a railroad-friendly path through the Selkirks. I’m sure the Shuswap guides liked being paid for scouting those steep and treacherous (and mighty beautiful) mountains. But framing it the way you did is wanting.
“Of course Anne Frank’s memory should be left on the kindergarten.”
On this, I agree whole heartedly.
The testiness around “discovery” may come from the view that European explorers were able to make a legitimate claim on North American lands by Right of Discovery. Under this doctrine, the Pope supposedly gave mariners from Catholic countries (which was all of Christendom in the early days) sailing under royal charters the blessing to claim discovered lands in the name of their kings provided they brought Catholic priests to convert the natives to Christianity. Whatever “discovery” in general might mean, the Doctrine of Discovery is a sore point with native bands in Canada today who have been making a show of lobbying the present-day Pope to renounce the Doctrine. This would, supposedly, thereby restore sovereignty over all of North America to them as part of their decolonization project. The Pope says the Doctrine of Discovery has not been Church doctrine for many years and does not underpin the legitimacy of any modern state.
The D of D might have been true for new-world colonies of France, Spain, and Portugal. But all of eastern North America north of the Spanish possessions became the sovereign property of King George III by Right of Conquest (from France) in the Seven Years War that ended in 1763. England having broken with the Pope in 1534, the Doctrine of Discovery did not apply in British North America. It therefore has no bearing on the legitimacy of either Canada or the United States. So as far as sovereignty goes, it doesn’t matter whether British North America was ever “discovered” by Columbus, Cabot, or Cartier, or not. The point of contention is whether an indigenous minority can overthrow state sovereignty in North America by undermining the concept of “discovery.” In our case they can’t. Britain conquered it, which conquest America inherited with independence.
This may sound like semantic navel-gazing but it is part of the indigenous advocacy, sovereignty, and land-claim canon here, which is like a never-ending visit to the dentist. Doubtless it would be in the U.S., too, were there any serious hope there that it might someday come true. The payoff to a tiny oligarchy would be enormous.
Thanks for the summary of this too complex cluster-f. Nothing changes in a big way unless something changes in a big way, and the big way is invariably, violence. I guess that’s why wars start in the first place. There is this vibe that the Israel/Hamas war, coupled with Ukraine/Russia war is some form of harbinger spark with the fuse igniting WWIII. I don’t do social media, so for me, getting that vibe seems like it’s more real than I care to admit.
Appreciate the insight, Mark.
Thanks.
There’s a new report in DER SPIEGEL, in which the chairman of Tangerhütte’s town council is quoted as saying that: “On Wednesday the town council will position itself unanimously against the intention to rename the ‘kita’ (kindergarten).”
Source: https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/tangerhuette-stadtrat-will-umbenennung-von-anne-frank-kita-offenbar-ablehnen-a-6dcb53e6-93d6-42af-bbe5-eeab6b4dc75c
Tangerhütte/Germany is a town in the Bundesland (federal state) Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), and there is an official tweet by its government stating the following:
“MP (Ministerpräsident/Governor) Reiner Haseloff has no sympathy for the discussion concerning the renaming of the ‘kita’ (kindergarten) Anne Frank in Tangerhütte, and regards this intention as an entirely wrong signal: ‘It is important to keep Jewish history alive in Saxony-Anhalt.'”
FYI: The German abbreviation “Kita” stands for “Kindertageseinrichtung”/”Kindertagesstätte” = “daycare facility for children”. A Kita for preschool children is the same as a Kindergarten.
Are they seriously arguing that the tragic story of a Jewish teenager murdered by the Nazis is “political” and that they have to change the name because “most three year olds haven’t heard of Anne Frank”? Madness!
Let me get this straight. As a solution to a social problem, a school in Germany suggests eliminating “Anne Frank?” Seriously? How obtuse.
Nice article by Bari Weiss
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/end-dei-bari-weiss-jews
A minor point: The Torygraph article categorizes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) as “Germany’s leading conservative newspaper” which may be misleading for readers from the US or the UK. While the FAZ definitely leans somewhat to the right within the generally very liberal world of German news publishing, it comes nowhere close to the hyper partisan products labeled conservative in the US.
Here’s the link to its commentary on the Kindegarden’s renaming decision:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/anne-frank-kita-in-sachsen-anhalt-will-das-juedische-maedchen-loswerden-19292364.html