Snapshots of a friendship

 

An exhibition at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin chronicles the stages of the friendship between Germany and Israel since 1965.

 

The first German Ambassador to Israel did not have an easy time. When he presented his letter of credence to Israel’s then president Salman Shasar in Jerusalem in August 1965, hearings at the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials were just reaching their conclusion. An enraged crowd, including many former concentration camp inmates, protested in front of the Presidential Palace with chants of “Nazi, go home!”

“A unique friendship”

 

German State Secretary Stephan Steinlein related the above episode at the opening of the exhibition “50 Years of Germany and Israel – Moments of a Unique Relationship”, now showing in the Atrium at the Foreign Office. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel on 12 May 1965, the two states have come a long and very special way, with many historic milestones now featuring in the exhibition.

 

A joint project by the Foreign Office and Centrum Judaicum, the exhibition addresses the themes of new beginnings, the responsibility that history has placed upon us, “The Games must go on”, shared values, partnerships, and home countries.  

Domed by an installation of the Star of David

The exhibition chronicles the bilateral relations between Germany and Israel with photos, information boards and film sequences and is domed by a three-dimensional installation of the Star of David.  

 

State Secretary Steinlein opened the exhibition together with the Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Yaakov Hadas-Handelsman, and Hermann Simon, Director of the New Synagogue Berlin – Centrum Judaicum Foundation.

 

The exhibition runs until 12 June 2015 in the Atrium of the Federal Foreign Office. Admission is free.