On November 9 Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, President of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC), took part in the opening of the new main synagogue in Munich. President of Germany Horst Köhler, Minister-President Edmund Stoiber, Israel Singer of the World Jewish Congress, and Charlotte Knobloch, President of Central Council of Jews in Germany, all attended the ceremony, one of the most important events in the life of the German Jewish community over the past few years. The event hosted approximately one thousand people.
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor stressed the significance of the fact, that “…this work of architecture was rebuilt right here, on a site with a heavy historical burden.” “I want to see as many of these projects as possible all over Europe, in order to express tolerance, respect and peaceful coexistence of all faiths,” he went on to say.

The opening of the Munich synagogue was timed to coincide with the anniversary of die Kristallnacht, the wave of Jewish pogroms that swept through Germany on November 9, 1938. Die Kristallnacht is remembered as one of the key events in the history of the Holocaust. The World Holocaust Forum Foundation, which is also headed by Kantor, plans to work jointly with the RJC to arrange a number of large-scale events in Berlin to commemorate 70 years since die Kristallnacht. The next Forum “Let My People Live!” is scheduled to take place in Berlin, the third in a series of yearly forums. Last year the Forum was held in Krakow, and this year’s Forum took place in Kyiv in September, commemorating the 65 th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy.

The goal of such events is the preservation of Holocaust memories and the prevention of future tragedies. When young people feel the dangers of xenophobia, it is deprived of opportunities for escalation. This is particularly important now, in the face of a new wave of nationalism in Europe. We must once again be vigilant.

The new synagogue was opened at Jakobplatz, on the site of the former main synagogue of Munich, built in 1887 and destroyed by the Nazis several months before the notorious November pogroms in 1938. The Munich synagogue was the third largest in Germany. At various times it was attended by the writer Lion Feuchtwanger, the conductor Bruno Walter, and the theatre director Max Reinhardt, all of whom were members of the local Jewish community. Today, Munich’s Jewish community numbers roughly 9,500 people, and is the second largest community in Germany, following the Berlin community.