Not only Jewish survivors of the German concentration and extermination camps are once again deeply saddened, horrified and increasingly disillusioned by the Frankfurt Administrative Court decision on the upcoming performance by British singer Roger Waters at the Frankfurter Festhalle.
While at the Auschwitz Memorial, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
"Survivors of the Holocaust are watching with great concern as anti-Semitism advances from numerous directions in society, and they are increasingly experiencing insults and threats to themselves and their family members, to the point of physical violence. The singer Roger Waters, whose public diatribes and fundamental beliefs constantly insult the state of Israel in a mixture of anti-Semitic and conspiracy theories, is actively contributing to this rise in anti-Semitic sentiments and hostilities with his propagandistic shows. For this he bears a high level of personal responsibility. The decision of the Administrative Court in Frankfurt simply abandons Jewish people to uncertainty and fear. It is in this context that the decision of the court should be seen. In stating that Water’s upcoming concert in the Festhalle does not violate the human dignity of the Jewish men who were herded into that hall in 1938 and suffered under the open anti-Semitic hatred and brutal violence of their Nazi captors, the decision is simply violating the dignity of those men and the memories of their relatives once again.
Following the blurring of the borders to anti-Semitism at the documenta fifteen just a few months ago, this decision by the Frankfurt court and its reasoning can only be understood as further proof for Jewish people, that sections of this society and some of its institutions are unwilling to protect them. This is a bitter state of affairs for Germany."