Move to new name daycare center ‘Anne Frank’ causes criticism in Germany

Amid increased tensions in Germany, the newspaper’s report prompted Jewish leaders and politicians to speak out.

Christoph Heubner, executive vice president of the International Auschwitz Committee, gave an opening speech letterin which he said that the mayor of the city and other people responsible for the center deliberately turned their backs on Anne Frank.

“If people, especially in these times of renewed anti-Semitism and far-right extremism, are prepared to nonchalantly clean up their own history and no longer find the name Anne Frank desirable in the public space, this sets off alarm bells and raises warnings about the fate of the memory culture in our country,” he said in a statement accompanying the letter.

A non-profit organization, Miteinander eV, which supports democratic society in Saxony-Anhalt, warned about right-wing extremists who use the debate to criticize immigrants. “We appeal to parents, daycare center management and the city parliament to make a sensible and responsible decision in light of the massive increase in anti-Semitism,” the report said.

On Monday, as criticism mounted, the city issued a decision a statement which stated that in fact nothing had been decided yet about a new name, which had been under consideration for several months.

As early as July 2023, the city said, the topic of the new name arose as the daycare center considered other changes. “These discussions are still ongoing with no decision made at this time,” the city said

Mayor Andreas Brohm said in the statement: “We have received many constructive suggestions and proposals, for which we are very grateful.”

The statement added: “Tangerhütte, with its educational institutions and all its social commitment, stands for an open-minded Germany that is aware of both its historical responsibility and its educational mission.”

The future of the proposal now appears uncertain. Wolfgang Schneiß, an official who oversees Jewish life issues in the state government, said in an interview that he assumed the city would now reject the idea.

“I and the Saxony-Anhalt government have no sympathy for such a name change,” he said in an email. “It doesn’t fit in with our times. There are many good ways to convey the subject of Anne Frank in a contemporary way to young children, especially to people with a migration history.”

Sven Schulze, Minister in Saxony-Anhalt, said that members of his Christian Democratic Union party who sit on the Tangerhütte municipal council would not support the new name. “Not only in today’s world, but in general, such a suggestion is completely absurd, instinctive and mean-spirited,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The chairman of the municipal council told the German news media that he and other council members would submit a resolution to reject the renaming and call on the mayor to issue a clear statement against any change.

“On Wednesday, the city council will take a unanimous position against the request to rename the daycare center,” chairman Werner Jacob told the Welt newspaper.

Christopher F. Schuetze reporting contributed.