Behind the Headlines: Kohl’s Candidate for Presidency Has Offended Jews and Many Others

Jews here are upset that Germany could soon have a president who believes the time has come for his country to move beyond the Holocaust and assume what he calls a “normal” role in Europe.

But they draw some comfort from the fact that the Christian Democratic presidential candidate, Steffen Heitmann, has managed to offend most Germans.

Heitmann’s remarks about the Holocaust, as well as his comments regarding women and foreigners, have led to serious doubts as to whether he will still be the candidate of the ruling party when members of national and state parliaments elect the president in May.

The Jewish uproar over Heitmann began in mid-September, when he told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that it was time to put the Holocaust in its “proper place” in history.

“The German special role in the postwar period was, to a certain extent, a continuation of the Nazi times,” he was quoted as saying. “That is over.”

Those comments were sharply criticized by the World Jewish Congress and by Jewish organizational leaders here. Ignatz Bubis, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, accused the candidate of saying what he thought people wanted to hear, rather than setting a moral example.

At the same time, Bubis said it would be inappropriate to compare Heitmann to Kurt Waldheim, who was elected president of Austria in 1986 despite revelations by the WJC that he had served in a German army unit linked to World War II atrocities.

“You cannot say he’s anti-Semitic,” Bubis said of the German presidential candidate, adding: “He’s a very conservative man, and that’s it.”

Nevertheless, Bubis has both publicly and privately opposed Heitmann’s candidacy. He met privately with Chancellor Helmut Kohl, at the chancellor’s request, to discuss the issue.

‘I DON’T NEED ANY LECTURES’ FROM WJC

It was Kohl who picked Heitmann, the obscure justice minister of the eastern German state of Saxony, as the Christian Democratic candidate for the largely ceremonial office of the presidency.

It was also Kohl who angrily warned the WJC earlier this month to stay out of the controversy.

“This is a question for the Germans to decide, and I don’t need any lectures from the World Jewish Congress,” the chancellor was quoted as saying.

In fact, there is a feeling among observers that a noisy campaign by the WJC — with a resulting sympathetic backlash for Heitmann, as happened with Waldheim — may be the only thing that could save Heitmann’s candidacy.

Recent polls show no more than 11 percent of the German electorate favoring Heitmann, with 77 percent opposing his candidacy.

But in New York, the WJC rejected the notion that it should remain on the sidelines.

The WJC “has never agreed with the point that one must remain silent in the face of evil,” said Executive Director Elan Steinberg. “Anti-Semites cause anti-Semitism, and not Jews,” Steinberg said.

There has been speculation that Kohl’s coalition partners may field a candidate of their own, or even that Kohl will stand for the post.

But meanwhile, the debate over Heitmann has reopened wounds for some Jews here.

Rina Menda-Otterbach, an Israeli here eight years, said the debate infuriated her. “Whether he’s chosen or not, it doesn’t matter to me. The debate was disgusting,” she said.

She added that Heitmann had separately offended her as a woman, a foreigner and a Jew.

Heitmann believes women should not work outside the home, and his views on foreigners are considered similarly backward by liberals here.

Last week, a visiting delegation of United Jewish Appeal leaders, on their first trip to Germany, did their best to stay out of the controversy. They met with outgoing President Richard von Weizsacker and were full of praise for him but carefully avoided mentioning Heitmann.

‘MAJORITY OF GERMANS’ CONDEMN ATTITUDE

The meeting with Weizsacker was the highlight of a historic visit by the 312-member UJA delegation, which came to Berlin for a 36-hour whirlwind tour of the city and for meetings with local and national leaders.

“We were most impressed with this elegant man,” said Roberta Holland, national vice chairwoman of the UJA.

Weizsacker has often served as a moral light for Germany, whereas Chancellor Kohl has repeatedly refused to visit major sites of antiforeigner violence.

A distinguished, aristocratic-looking man, Weizsacker is an eloquent speaker who has often broached topics other politicians have ignored.

At times, one has the impression that Weizsacker is Germany’s chief political firefighter. After racial riots or attacks on foreigners’ homes, the government trots him out to calm nerves.

“We expressed our hope that the presidency, which has been a tremendous moral force under his leadership, will continue to be so,” UJA Executive Vice President Brian Lurie said.

Berlin Mayor Christine Bergmann gave a sample of the German opposition to Heitmann when she addressed the UJA delegation at a luncheon held last week in Berlin’s City Hall.

“I am angry,” she said, “about the newly revived discussion about Germany finding its way back to normality.” This idea “must be rejected. The majority of Germans condemn this attitude.”