"Relations between Germany and Israel remain unique. They will always be marked by memories of the Holocaust, when Nazi Germany systematically murdered 6 million European Jews during World War II. And yet, since 1965, when Israel and West Germany formally established diplomatic ties, relations have evolved remarkably. 'Any country except Germany' Early Israeli travel documents bore the limitation: "Valid to any country except Germany." With this exception, the fledgling state sought to distance itself from what was seen as the "country of murderers.""
"When in 1964, amid heightened tensions between Israel and its neighboring states over issues such as control over water sources news of a clandestine arms deal between Germany and Israel broke, public outcry initially strained ties between the states. But this ultimately also cleared the way for both nations to establish formal diplomatic relations in 1965. Not everyone in the new Israeli nation welcomed this. The inauguration of Germany's first ambassador to Israel was accompanied by violent counter-demonstrations."
Holocaust memory and the legacy of Nazi crimes fundamentally mark relations between Germany and Israel. Early Israeli travel documents banned travel to Germany and the 1952 Luxembourg Agreement and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany established reparations and reimbursement for assets lost to persecution. A clandestine 1964 arms deal provoked public outcry but helped pave the way for formal diplomatic relations in 1965, which met domestic protests in Israel. Relations strengthened over time through shared days of remembrance and reciprocal state visits, signaling gradual rapprochement and normalization.
#germanyisrael-relations #holocaust-memory #reparations-1952-luxembourg-agreement #diplomatic-normalization
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]