Obermayer German Jewish History Award, Distinguished Service

Charlotte Knobloch

This year for the first time, we gave a Distinguished Service Award to a person who did not qualify for our normal awards. Below are the words used in the presentation by Arthur Obermayer.

In 1942, at the age of 10, while walking with her father, he was seized by the Nazis, and a total stranger protected her by taking her by the hand as she would have taken her own daughter, and stayed with her until it was safe for her to walk home alone. Then, her uncle's maid presented her as the maid's own illegitimate daughter to live out the rest of the war on a Franconian farm with a devout Catholic family. 

In 1948 she met her future husband, whose mother and five siblings from Krakow had been murdered. The couple planned to emigrate to America, but family and professional circumstances caused them to stay in Germany.

It was not Charlotte Knobloch's goal to become a Jewish leader in Germany, but she accepted the call when her children were grown.  First, she became the leader of the Jewish community in Munich.  Then, from 2006-2010, she was elected the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the most important role for a Jew in this country.  But her influence has extended far beyond Germany as the Vice President of both the European Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress.  In these roles she has worked to combat anti-Semitism, to promote German-speaking Jewish communities, and to build bridges to Jewish communities in other countries.

The scroll we are presenting to you says, "For extraordinary dedication and outstanding contributions to memorialize the Jewish heritage and culture throughout Germany.  It is given in appreciation of your special role in connecting the past with the present, communicating as a Jewish leader, and committing to help heal the world."