Dr. Alfons Goppel, Minister-President of the West German State of Bavaria has promised to use his influence with the Oberammergau authorities to persuade them to substitute another version of the Passion Play for the present anti-Semitic text.
Dr. Goppel’s met leaders of the American Jewish Committee here in the presence of Dr. Klaus Curtius, West German Consul-General in New York. The Committee leaders — who included Irving M. Engel, honorary president; Richard Maass, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman; Dr. John Slawson, executive vice-president; Dr. Simon Segal, Foreign Affairs Department director; and Jerry Goodman, European Specialist — stressed that the Oberammergau version is in direct conflict with decisions taken by the Ecumenical Council.
The delegation also asked Dr. Goppel to act to halt illegal publication of Hitler’s “Main Kampf,” the copyright of which is owned by the Bavarian State Government. Dr. Goppel promised to discuss this with the West German Foreign Ministry.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
