BVB managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke receives the Leo Baeck Prize, awarded by the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Source: dpa
Since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany has increased significantly.November 8, 2024 | 10:11 minutes
BVB offers educational trips to concentration camp memorial sites
Watzke represents the commitment of a club that is rare in European football: After years of public criticism, BVB has sought advice from external scientists since 2012. Starting in 2014, the club offered its fans and employees educational trips to concentration camp memorials, and there are now at least three per year.
In Dortmund we look at the traces of Jewish life, anti-Semitic persecution and the structures of National Socialism.
Daniel Lörcher, Borussia Dortmund
Thanks to the popularity of football, BVB reaches many interested people who would not otherwise take advantage of political education offers. They also present biographies in the projects. An example: The former BVB groundskeeper and resistance fighter Heinrich Czerkus was murdered by the Nazis in 1945 shortly before the end of the war.
A piano, a yellowed diary: The Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial is showing some of its artifacts in Germany for the first time. The exhibition is a reminder of flight and expulsion.01/25/2023 | 2:47 minutes
Borussia supports memorial projects
After a football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, there were serious anti-Semitic riots in Amsterdam. Police arrested more than 60 people.November 8, 2024 | 1:48 minutes
The club and fans invited relatives of Hamas victims and hostages to Dortmund on several occasions. “As an Israeli fan with German roots, this means a lot to me,” says Adam Lahav from the “Israeli Borussians”, a fan club that has members primarily from Israel in Germany.
Many people in Israel can now identify with BVB.
Adam Lahav, “Israeli Borussia” fan club
The Bundestag has passed a resolution against anti-Semitism with the votes of the Union, SPD, Greens, FDP and AfD.November 7, 2024 | 1:19 minutes
Prevention away from the public
In this charged atmosphere, BVB sometimes only promotes events about anti-Semitism internally in order to avoid disruption. Club employee Daniel Lörcher says that prevention usually takes place away from the general public.
After October 7th, he and his colleagues approached the Jewish community in Dortmund, which had repeatedly been held responsible for Israel’s military actions in Gaza. “We said: We are at your side,” says Lörcher. “These are people from our city who have to justify something they have nothing to do with.”
Source: Reuters
