Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was honored with the Leo Baeck Medal in New York.
Image: AP
Where many remained silent, Steinmeier spoke with great moral clarity, it was said in the laudation. The President replied that the award filled him with great humility: “Our responsibility to history is part of our identity.”
B.undespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier was awarded the Leo Baeck Medal in New York for his commitment to the preservation and promotion of Jewish life in Germany. “At a time when too many world leaders are silent, there is a man who speaks clearly and with great moral clarity – and that is you, Mr. President,” said Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, on Thursday evening (local time) at the Leo Baeck Institute in New York in his laudatory speech.
The award was a “great honor” and filled him with “deep humility,” said Steinmeier. “Our responsibility to history is part of our identity. It knows no line and no relativization. We cannot tolerate anti-Semitism in Germany. I will continue to fight for this, as head of state of this country and as a person. “
Merkel and Gauck were also among the winners
The award, named after the German rabbi Leo Baeck, has been presented for around 40 years. Earlier winners included the currently executive Chancellor Angela Merkel and Steinmeier’s predecessor Joachim Gauck.
Steinmeier had traveled to New York with his wife Elke Büdenbender. On Thursday morning, they had already visited the memorial and museum commemorating the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in southern Manhattan.
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