German Chancellor Olaf Scholz highlighted the importance of Jewish life in Germany during a visit to a newly inaugurated synagogue in his constituency just outside of Berlin.
Scholz described the synagogue in Potsdam, which opened several weeks ago, as a symbolically important step for Germany.
It is a “touching moment for me to see that after the terrible history of fascism and National Socialism with the destruction of Jewish life in Germany and throughout Europe” to see that Jewish life is finding a place again and places for it exist, Scholz said.
“That is a sign that gives us hope,” he added.
Scholz, who lives just a few hundred metres from the synagogue, walked over for a visit on Thursday, flanked by his bodyguards.
Scholz said that Germany’s Jewish community can “rely on us,” as they face what Scholz described as political threats.
Potsdam, which is the capital of the eastern German state of Brandenburg, had been the only state capital in Germany without a synagogue. The previous synagogues in the city had been destroyed by the Nazis.
The Jewish community in Potsdam has been using a small space at the local university as a place of worship. The project for the synagogue was difficult and accompanied by years of dispute among different denominations within the religion.
The €17.5 million ($19.5 million) synagogue was inaugurated a few weeks ago under heavy police protection. From September 1, it is to become the religious centre of several Jewish communities in Potsdam and can accommodate 199 people at the same time.
The building is equipped with a security gate and the windows are made of bullet-proof glass.
