Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has spoken on the phone to Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

Federal Minister Westerwelle expressed his personal thanks for the outstanding achievements of Charlotte Knobloch, who personifies the historical memory of the Jewish community like very few others in Germany. Westerwelle issued the following statement in Berlin today (8 February):

“She was six years old when the synagogues were burned down. It is thus all the more her life’s work that since 9 November 2006 her home town of Munich has again had a lively community centre and a wonderful synagogue at Jakobsplatz, a building with an immense appeal – both architecturally and spiritually.

Charlotte Knobloch has made an outstanding contribution towards the Jewish community in Munich, Bavaria and Germany. In heading the Central Council of Jews in Germany, she has sought to honour the past while looking to the opportunities for the future.

Charlotte Knobloch is aware of the necessity of international cooperation. That is why she has represented Germany’s Jews both in European and in worldwide Jewish organizations. In everything she has done, she has always attached special importance to Israel, its people, with whom she has close personal ties, and relations between Israel and Germany.

For that I would like to thank her most sincerely. I look forward to future encounters and fruitful talks.”