Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Israel's Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff on Monday opened an exhibition at the German Foreign Office to honor the righteous diplomats who went against their own government policies and rescued hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust.
Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, the German maritime attaché in Denmark, was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1971.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Duckwitz tipped off Danish leaders ahead of Hitler's intention of deporting Denmark's Jewish population making possible the rescue of 90% of Danish Jewry.
By the end of World War II, some 6 million Jews had been murdered as part of Hitler's Final Solution.
Gabriel praised relations between Germany and Israel and for the courage of the diplomats but called for alertness to a rise in anti-Semitism fueled by global conflicts and anxiety in Germany and Europe.
The Beyond Duty exhibition is dedicated to the Righteous Among the Nations – referring to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews – and to the Holocaust survivors.
"This is a special exhibition that we would like to open today. It points to the courage of people in the diplomatic service who acted in times when it really was dangerous. Today there are of course also difficult situations and dangerous situations in other countries, no question, but a situation which was as dramatic as the time between 1933 and 1945 where Germany tried to enforce its ideology all over the world and murdered people, in particular, the Jews, has not reoccurred, at least not in this country. And despite this, there was a whole group – not many – but still a group of people who took a stand against this," Gabriel said.
"Whether we are the ancestors of aggressors or of victims; whether we grew up in Germany or elsewhere it is up to all of us to not forget. And above all to refute the assumption that anti-Semitism is marginal in society. I think that this is the cornerstone of doing the past justice today and tomorrow," he continued. "There are of course questions of whether anti-Semitism has been tackled thoroughly enough in Germany. I find it a great shame on our country that police have been a necessary presence outside synagogues for decades.
"Today, as a result of globalization and the many conflicts in the world beyond the relative safety of Germany and Europe, many people have become nervous and so anti-Semitism has found fertile soil within xenophobia and nationalism and has allowed movements and parties with new membership."
Speaking at the event, Issacharoff said, "It is in this spirit that I think the opening of this exhibition today, regarding diplomats recognised as righteous among nations, conceived by Yad Vashem, fulfills a vital role: if there are elements of the Holocaust that can never really be fathomed, these stories around us, of courageous diplomats that saved so many thousands and thousands of Jews, can be understood, admired and must never be forgotten.
"These are stories of great personal courage, integrity and heroism that should be engraved on our collective consciousness and remind us that where there has been a great evil there can always be a greater good."
