Heiko Maas: We mustn't accept Jews becoming scapegoats

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“Through a law that is valid throughout the Reich, we allow all city councils to appoint Jews to the city council.” This is how the Roman Emperor Constantine answered a petition from the city superiors of Cologne, who had turned to Rome on this question.

The correspondence is the earliest written evidence of Jewish life in Germany.

Jews have been living in German-speaking countries for at least 1,700 years.

And what would our philosophy be without the thoughts of Moses Mendelssohn or Hannah Arendt?

What would science do without Albert Einstein?

And how much poorer would our life be without the music of Gustav Mahler, the poetry of Else Lasker-Schülers or the stories of Heinrich Heine or Franz Kafka?

It is good if, in this anniversary year, we become aware of how deep our Jewish roots go, how much they shape us to this day.

And we can count ourselves lucky that around 200,000 Jewish citizens are again part of German society today.

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Unfortunately, the 1700-year history of Judaism in Germany cannot be told without also talking about persecution, genocide and hatred of Jews.

The grimace of anti-Semitism is always hidden behind new masks.

This is shown by the confused conspiracy theories that are growing ever more absurd in the corona pandemic.

Anyone who attaches themselves to yellow Jewish stars at demonstrations is not a concerned citizen.

But an anti-Semite.

And those who carry right-wing radicals signs with the inscription "Vaccination Makes Free" through our streets or storm the US Capitol with a "Camp Auschwitz" shirt are not only thinking completely wrong.

It mocks the victims of National Socialism, belittles its inhuman brutality and destroys basic civilizational values ​​that are of crucial importance for our coexistence and our democracy.

It is the duty of all democrats to state this clearly.

As chairman of the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance (IHRA), Germany therefore wants to promote the fight against such dangerous lies, against the distortion of facts and against the trivialization of the Holocaust worldwide.

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To this end, we have set up a global task force against the falsification of the Holocaust in order to defend these universal values ​​together with international partners.

This week, leading international scientists presented their recommendations to us.

They show that there is an urgent need for action.

Networking of conspiracy theorists and right-wing terrorists

First, the digital nature of current anti-Semitism makes it limitless.

Therefore, more than ever, we must take action against it in an internationally coordinated manner.

The line between freedom of expression and hate speech, between ignorance and deliberate distortion of facts may not always be easy to draw.

It is all the more important that we develop a clear international understanding of what we mean by the falsification of the Holocaust and how we can counteract it.

We are working on this with our partners in the IHRA, the EU, the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

But the interior authorities are also challenged.

A current study shows how closely right-wing terrorists and conspiracy theorists are already networked online.

And our security authorities must act at least as closely networked.

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Second: Education is the best remedy against prejudice and historical half-knowledge.

During our presidency, we widely distributed IHRA recommendations on learning and teaching to schools and other educational institutions in Germany.

As early as 2019 we launched the European network on education against anti-Semitism, which combats anti-Semitic stereotypes.

But the question of how to recognize the falsification of the Holocaust and what to do about it is firmly anchored in the curricula of our schools and universities and in the curricula of our police and judicial training.

Third, memorials, museums and educational institutions that deal with the Holocaust need reliable political and financial support.

Last year we secured our commitments for the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Yad Vashem memorials in Jerusalem for years to come.

And even in the Corona crisis, Germany must leave no doubt that we are taking on our special responsibility.

Don't be silent, more moral courage

Fourth: We must finally get a grip on hatred of Jews and agitation on the Internet.

As Chair of the Council of Europe, we have put the protection of human rights on the Internet and the issue of hate speech high on the agenda.

It is good that companies like Facebook no longer deny their great responsibility.

But while ex-President Trump's lies about alleged election fraud in the US have been clearly marked as such by Twitter, lies about the worst crime of humanity, the Holocaust, go far too often unchallenged.

The key lies in closer collaboration between platform operators, academic and civil society organizations that are best placed to distinguish facts from false claims.

Much remains to be done here.

The alpha and omega, however, is a society that does not accept silence when facts are twisted, perpetrators are made victims and Jews are made scapegoats.

More vigilance against such excesses, more moral courage and more practical solidarity would do us and our country good - and this well beyond the anniversary year 2021.

The author is Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and belongs to the SPD.