The outgoing US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, is “very concerned” about the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany and her home country. “Anti-Semitism is raising its head,” said Gutmann in the new magazine “WELT-Blick auf Amerika” (at 3:30 p.m. on WELT TV). “That is very worrying, both in Germany and in the USA.”
Gutmann, whose father Kurt Gutmann had to flee Nazi Germany as a Jew in 1934 and later emigrated to the United States, pointed out that anti-Semitism had increased in both countries even before Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023: “Of course, that worries me and should worry everyone.”
At the same time, the 74-year-old diplomat praised the public reaction to this development: “It is important that most people and most leaders stand up against it to defend our Jewish brothers and sisters against this kind of hatred.” Germany, with its culture of remembrance, began to educate people about the crimes of the National Socialists very early on: “These lessons for the future are the key to ensuring that it can never happen again.” She added: “Never again is now!”
Gutmann compared the culture of remembrance of the crimes committed under the National Socialists in Germany with that of slavery in the USA. Both form the foundation for what is happening today: “We cannot forget the past and we must teach that. We are all responsible for it – as Jews, Christians, Muslims or even as atheists and agnostics. We must stand up against all forms of hatred.”
The US ambassador, who will be leaving Germany in a few weeks, spoke very positively about the relationship between the two countries: “I am very happy to be able to say that German-American relations are better than ever.” Unfortunately, her father, who died in the 1960s, was not able to see Germany become a “united, thriving, strong democracy” and his daughter become ambassador in this Germany, which is now considered one of the USA’s strongest allies. “And that is the reason why I am optimistic about the future,” said the diplomat.
Former political science professor Gutmann has only been ambassador in Berlin since February 2022. She cited “private reasons” as the reason for her departure.
“WELT-Blick auf Amerika” is broadcast every Wednesday and is hosted by WELT-TV editor-in-chief Jan Philipp Burgard. The program takes viewers on a journey through the current political and social developments in the USA in the run-up to the presidential election in November. Reports from the USA, interviews and observations from the US election campaign are among the permanent elements of the format.
