Ignatz Bubis
Encyclopedia
Ignatz Bubis German Jewish leader, was the influential chairman (and later president) of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland
(Central Council of Jews in Germany
) from 1992 to 1999. In this capacity he led a public campaign against German anti-Semitism
. Bubis's high profile both in Frankfurt and nationwide involved him in a number of public controversies.
), Bubis moved with his family to Dęblin
, Poland in 1935. During the Nazi
occupation of Deblin, Bubis lived in the ghetto
before deportation to a labor camp in Częstochowa
in 1944. After liberation, he moved to Dresden
and later West Germany
as the political situation in the Soviet zone of occupation deteriorated. He established himself in the precious metal industry, and in 1956 he moved permanently to Frankfurt am Main, where he entered the real estate business. In Frankfurt, Bubis also became active in Jewish communal politics. In 1965, he joined the executive board of the Frankfurt Jewish community and served as chairman from 1978 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1999. In 1977, he joined the executive board of the Zentralrat der Juden, becoming deputy chairman in 1989 and chairman in 1992, a position he held until his death.
As a real estate speculator, he drew the ire of many on the political left in the late 1960s and 1970s. Particular opponents were radical members of the students' movement and squatters' rights movement. In his posthumously produced play Der Müll, die Stadt und der Tod (Trash, the City, and Death, 1985), German playwright and director Rainer Werner Fassbinder
satirized a 'rich Jew' who took advantage of his Jewishness for business and political purposes. Many considered this characterization to be an oblique attack on Bubis. In response, Bubis and other members of the Frankfurt Jewish community occupied the stage of the Schaubühne Theater, preventing the play's debut.
As the outspoken leader of the Jewish community in Germany, Bubis gradually became a presence in German public life and intellectual discourse over the Nazi past. In 1994, the weekly newspaper Die Woche (The Week) proposed that Bubis run for German president on behalf of the Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party, or FDP). Bubis did not pursue the nomination. He was active in Frankfurt municipal and Hessian
state politics. From 1987 to 1991, he served on the board of the Hessian state FDP, and in 1997 Bubis led the FDP in a successful bid to gain representation in the Frankfurt city council. He also served on the board of Hessian state radio throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Shortly before his death, Bubis became embroiled in two controversies. In 1998, German author Martin Walser
won the Peace Prize of the German Bookdealers Association. At the award ceremony Walser's remarks regarding the instrumentalization of Auschwitz
and Holocaust
memory enraged Bubis, who left the auditorium and attacked Walser in the press. After a series of well-publicized comments, Walser and Bubis met and reconciled. A few weeks before his death, Bubis, already seriously ill, claimed that Jews could not live freely in Germany. Additionally, noting the desecration of the grave of his Zentralrat predecessor Heinz Galinski
in Berlin
, Bubis requested that he be buried in Israel. At his funeral, his grave was desecrated by Israeli artist Meir Mendelssohn.
Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland
The Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland is a federation of German Jews organizing many Jewish organisations in Germany. It was founded on July 19, 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish community and increasing interest in Jewish affairs by the ...
(Central Council of Jews in Germany
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...
) from 1992 to 1999. In this capacity he led a public campaign against German anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Bubis's high profile both in Frankfurt and nationwide involved him in a number of public controversies.
Life
Born in the formerly German city of Breslau (today Wrocław, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), Bubis moved with his family to Dęblin
Deblin
Dęblin is a town, population 19,500 , at the confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which altogether has over 100 000 inhabitants....
, Poland in 1935. During the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation of Deblin, Bubis lived in the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
before deportation to a labor camp in Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
in 1944. After liberation, he moved to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and later West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
as the political situation in the Soviet zone of occupation deteriorated. He established himself in the precious metal industry, and in 1956 he moved permanently to Frankfurt am Main, where he entered the real estate business. In Frankfurt, Bubis also became active in Jewish communal politics. In 1965, he joined the executive board of the Frankfurt Jewish community and served as chairman from 1978 to 1981 and from 1983 to 1999. In 1977, he joined the executive board of the Zentralrat der Juden, becoming deputy chairman in 1989 and chairman in 1992, a position he held until his death.
As a real estate speculator, he drew the ire of many on the political left in the late 1960s and 1970s. Particular opponents were radical members of the students' movement and squatters' rights movement. In his posthumously produced play Der Müll, die Stadt und der Tod (Trash, the City, and Death, 1985), German playwright and director Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
satirized a 'rich Jew' who took advantage of his Jewishness for business and political purposes. Many considered this characterization to be an oblique attack on Bubis. In response, Bubis and other members of the Frankfurt Jewish community occupied the stage of the Schaubühne Theater, preventing the play's debut.
As the outspoken leader of the Jewish community in Germany, Bubis gradually became a presence in German public life and intellectual discourse over the Nazi past. In 1994, the weekly newspaper Die Woche (The Week) proposed that Bubis run for German president on behalf of the Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party, or FDP). Bubis did not pursue the nomination. He was active in Frankfurt municipal and Hessian
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
state politics. From 1987 to 1991, he served on the board of the Hessian state FDP, and in 1997 Bubis led the FDP in a successful bid to gain representation in the Frankfurt city council. He also served on the board of Hessian state radio throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Shortly before his death, Bubis became embroiled in two controversies. In 1998, German author Martin Walser
Martin Walser
At first the speech did not cause a great stir. Indeed, the audience present in Church of St. Paul received the speech with applause, though Walser's critic Ignatz Bubis did not applaud, as confirmed by television footage of the event...
won the Peace Prize of the German Bookdealers Association. At the award ceremony Walser's remarks regarding the instrumentalization of Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
and Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
memory enraged Bubis, who left the auditorium and attacked Walser in the press. After a series of well-publicized comments, Walser and Bubis met and reconciled. A few weeks before his death, Bubis, already seriously ill, claimed that Jews could not live freely in Germany. Additionally, noting the desecration of the grave of his Zentralrat predecessor Heinz Galinski
Heinz Galinski
Heinz Galinski was president of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland also known as Central Council of Jews in Germany from 1988 until his death in 1992....
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Bubis requested that he be buried in Israel. At his funeral, his grave was desecrated by Israeli artist Meir Mendelssohn.