WR Interview
Meeting
Germany’s Jews
In an in-depth interview, WIZO Germany President Diana Schnabel
discusses the emerging Jewish community in Germany – the fastest
growing in the world – and how she’s keeping WIZO’s finger on its pulse
Zohar Friedman
“Today, my children say they are German Jews,” explains
Diana Schnabel, President of WIZO Germany, “whereas I
used to say I am a Jew living in Germany.” Diana is describing
the changing identity of Jews in Germany – or German Jews
– a small but significant distinction that touches at the very
heart of the self-identification issue facing the community.
Today, amid a host of changes – a considerable influx of
post-Soviet Jews, a favourable economic climate, and the
emerging infrastructure for Jewish life including schools,
synagogues and communal organisations – the Jewish
community does not merely exist in Germany, it is truly
thriving and growing.
As the child of Polish Holocaust survivors, a German citizen
and a passionate but critical Zionist, there is no better
person to acquaint us with this community-in-transition,
its burgeoning identity and the role WIZO does – and can –
play in this revival of Jewish life.
A post-war childhood
“Growing up as a Jew in Germany was something special,”
Diana Schnabel says of her childhood – which although
special, was not at all simple.
Before moving to Germany as a toddler, Diana lived briefly
in both Poland – the country of her birth – and Israel, where
her family moved in 1956, just at the outbreak of the Suez
Crisis. By 1958, the young family moved to Germany after
Diana’s father accepted a compelling job offer.
But Israel always remained in the family’s heart. Her parents
were deeply haunted by the knowledge that “had Israel
existed, their lives would have been different.”The home was
strongly Zionist, with Diana and her brother participating
in the local Zionist youth movements. They were also
instilled with strong Jewish values, such as tzedaka (charity).
“No matter how little we had, my parents always gave to
tzedaka.”
As Diana speaks, a picture begins to emerge of a young Jewish
family in transition: the parents raising their children to speak
Polish, love Israel, value justice, have a deep understanding
of Jewish values and culture, and all the while absorbing
14 I SPRING/SUMMER 2014 I WIZO RE VIE W
German language
and culture from their
surroundings.
Growing up in this
myriad of languages,
cultures and often
conflicting feelings
did not always impact
Diana and her brother
positively. “When we
were young, I was
maybe 15 or 16, we
accused our parents:
‘How could you have
come back here? How
could you have raised
us here?’”
Diana attending a WIZO Berlin Gala evening. (l to r) Jaqueline Rosenkranz, Dagmar Schwarzer, Simone Graumann, Michal Gelerman,
Maya Urseanu, Diana Schnabel, Annie Karolinski-Donig, Marina Polewski, Tatiana Friedberg-Semmler
here is one of the best. It’s not difficult to raise a nice family
– and we have all the facilities for Jewish life.”
Furthermore, Diana points out, the numbers are compelling.
“The Russian Jewish immigration to Germany in the 1990s
raised the Jewish population from around 35,000 to around
100,000.”
Diana Schnabel
Today, however, Diana’s perspective has changed:
growing up in such close proximity – both geographically
and temporally – to one of the most horrific crimes
committed against the Jewish people, filled Diana and her
contemporaries with a finely tuned moral compass and the
conviction to speak up in the face of injustice. “We were
brought up as fighters. We were told to voice our opinions.
If there is injustice, we must speak up. This is very typical of
my generation. I’m not afraid of anyone. I say what I think.
Growing up as a Jew in Germany – it is something special.”
One example stands out: “In 1986, there was a big protest
about an anti-Semitic play. I was among a group that
stormed the theatre, we occupied the stage, we spoke up.
I was WIZO Aviv then and WIZO had an important role in
activating the protest. We rallied the WIZO women to get
involved. Self-dependency was – and still is – very important
for Jews in Germany.”
While the melding of the German Jewish and Russian
Jewish groups wasn’t seamless, there are signs that the two
groups are beginning to constitute one strong, cohesive
community. “It will take time, but it’s happening. I think the
Russian immigration is very positive. We have communities
that didn’t exist before – and that’s thanks to the Russian
Jews.”
As an important institution in the Jewish community, WIZO
women were involved in assisting Russian Jews integrate
into Germany. One incident in particular stands out, when
newly arriving Russian families, temporarily living in hotels
in Frankfurt, made a plea for assistance in caring for their
children during after school hours. “Within two weeks, we
[WIZO chaverot] organized a hot meal for the kids in the
Jewish community centre. We helped them do homework
and waited with them until their parents could pick them
up. This was WIZO. We continued until they had everything
they needed – until the schools caught up to accommodate
them and the families found apartments of their own.”
The changing face of WIZO Germany
Germany’s emerging Jewish
community
Similar to the changes facing the larger community, the
attitudes of WIZO Germany chaverot have also undergone
something of a revolution – both in how they fit into the
larger WIZO family and how they self-identify.
When asked about the long-term viability of a Jewish
community in Germany, Diana says, “I see a future in my
children’s generation. Many of the younger ones who study
abroad come back. They find jobs – the economic situation
“In 1961, after WIZO Germany was re-established after the
Second World War, the federation’s first executives were
not officially introduced at WIZO conferences, and were
not given official name tags or place