Jews in Germany should focus more on the future than the past, said the newly elected head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann.
In an interview last week in the Financial Times Deutschland, Mr Graumann said that while it is important to remember the Holocaust, the role of Jews in Germany should not merely be that of a moral compass.
Rather, they should focus on building Jewish identity, interfaith relations, support for Israel and for democracy in Germany, Mr Graumann has said in a series of interviews since his election in November to lead the body that represents about 110,000 affiliated members of Jewish communities nationwide.
Mr Graumann, 60, is the first non-survivor to lead the umbrella organisation. Some had criticised his predecessor, Charlotte Knobloch - who survived the war in hiding - for focusing too much on the Nazi past. But Mr Graumann said that news media were partly to blame for that emphasis.
