Walter Ohlmer, the archivist of the town of Moringen on Lower Saxony, has resigned, following protests over the publication of an official book about the town which contains a clear anti-Jewish bias. The book was sharply condemned by Prime Minister Ernst Albrecht of the federal state of Lower Saxony.
Ohlmer had written a chronicle called “1,000 Years of Moringen” in which Kristallnacht (the night of shattered glass, referring to the Nazi rampage during which the windows of Jewish-owner stores in Germany were shattered) was attributed to Jewish provocations. The chronicle referred to the members of the former Jewish community in Moringen as people who were unwilling to earn their livelihood by honest work.
Albrecht, in a letter to Heinz Galinski, chairman of the Jewish community of Berlin, wrote that the prosecutor’s office is considering the possibility of opening an investigation against those who were responsible for the chronicle’s publication. Ohlmer’s job was to keep the records of the town of Moringen. It was an honorary position.
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.
