Heads of West German State, German Leaders Issue Rosh Hashanah Greetings to Jews

The heads of the West German state and German leaders today issued messages of Rosh Hashanah greetings to the Jews of Germany, calling for reconciliation.

Dr. Theodor Heuss, President of the federal Republic, issued a statement which declared in part: “I am aware that the past year has brought fulfillment of only a fraction of the expectations of those who counted upon, and continue to count upon, compensation for sufferings both material and mental.” The message also called for good will and an open mind until “true justice” prevails. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer pledged that his government would oppose “any attempt to re-erect new political and religious barriers.”

A message issued by the office of the Premier of Bavaria expressed the hope that the new year will bring further progress in the fulfillment of the “justified claims of our Jewish fellow citizens.” The Mayor of Munich stated that the sacrifice of millions of Jews under Nazi tyranny can never be forgotten. He also called for tolerance and mutual understanding to overcome the difficulties in building “our young democracy which no longer knows any differences irrespective of what faith one professes or to what race he belongs.”

H. Boeckler, president of the Federation of Trade Unions, declared that the “German people have been taught by bitter experience what it means to disregard the beliefs and convictions of others. German trade unionists, many of whom suffered personally like the Jews under Nazi tyranny, are determined to preserve freedom by all means at their disposal.”

The Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the United States zone issued a message expressing hope that the new year will be a “year of peace and redemption, a year in which the very last Jew will leave Germany.”