Hajo Meyer
Encyclopedia
Hajo Meyer is a German
-Dutch
physicist
and Jewish
political activist.
Born in Bielefeld
, in 1938 Meyer fled from Nazi Germany
to the Netherlands alone, without his parents. He went into hiding in 1943, but was arrested after a year and spent ten months in Auschwitz. His parents, who were deported from Germany, did not survive.
After the war, Meyer returned to the Netherlands, and studied theoretical physics
. He started working for Philips
and eventually became director of the Philips Physics Laboratory (NatLab). After his retirement he took courses in England
and worked as a builder of new violins
and violas
.
In recent years Meyer has been politically active, including as director of A Different Jewish Voice
. He also wrote the book Het einde van het Jodendom (The End of Judaism) in 2003, which accuses Israel
of abusing the Holocaust to justify crimes against the Palestinians
. He is a member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
. He participated in the 2011 "Never Again - For Anyone" tour. Meyer also claimed that Zionism predates fascism
, that Zionists and fascists had a history of cooperation, and that Israel wants to create anti-Semitism in the world to encourage more Jews to migrate to Israel. He has spoken in favor of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
against Israel.
Hajo Meyer is a member of the Dutch GreenLeft
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
physicist
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
political activist.
Born in Bielefeld
Bielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
, in 1938 Meyer fled from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to the Netherlands alone, without his parents. He went into hiding in 1943, but was arrested after a year and spent ten months in Auschwitz. His parents, who were deported from Germany, did not survive.
After the war, Meyer returned to the Netherlands, and studied theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
. He started working for Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
and eventually became director of the Philips Physics Laboratory (NatLab). After his retirement he took courses in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and worked as a builder of new violins
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and violas
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
.
In recent years Meyer has been politically active, including as director of A Different Jewish Voice
Een Ander Joods Geluid
Een Ander Joods Geluid is a Dutch-Jewish organisation founded in May 2001 to promote the public debate concerning Israel...
. He also wrote the book Het einde van het Jodendom (The End of Judaism) in 2003, which accuses Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
of abusing the Holocaust to justify crimes against the Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
. He is a member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network is a network of anti-Zionist Jews pledged to "Oppose Zionism and the State of Israel".- Advocacy and activity :The IJAN views Zionism as a racist movement, and Israel as an apartheid state...
. He participated in the 2011 "Never Again - For Anyone" tour. Meyer also claimed that Zionism predates fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, that Zionists and fascists had a history of cooperation, and that Israel wants to create anti-Semitism in the world to encourage more Jews to migrate to Israel. He has spoken in favor of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions refers to a campaign first initiated on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause ".....
against Israel.
Hajo Meyer is a member of the Dutch GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
.