2015-01-27/8 - Leipzig

Updated about 2 weeks ago · Taken in Leipzig, Germany

It’s not Just the Football……….

The Mayor of Leipzig looked great.The tall blue suited Burkhard Jung strode confidently into the lobby of the Town Hall and opened an exhibition about Jewish football in Leipzig and Germany.

It seemed like our film Liga Terezin had landed a perfect fit as he explained, ‘ we are dealing with young people, sports and football - the lovely child of all Germans. It’s a very important way to make contact with the Holocaust. ‘

His guide across the exhibition, Ulrike Fabig described the research carried out by the Fan Club of Leipzig relating to the Jewish players.

After the Nazi’s prohibited Jews from playing in the regular German leagues, the Jews opened their own leagues with their own clubs. Some of the Jewish footballers in Leipzig ultimately perished on those same fields.

In his opening comments, the Mayor focused on the figure of Walther Bensemann the famous Jewish player who was a founding member of the German Football Association. In 1920, he published the first edition of Kicker – one of the most important football magazines to this day.

Fabig reminded the audience that knowledge about the past will be a shield against the dangers of the future.

She hopes the exhibition she created, inspired by ‘Never Again”, will be taken out of the Town Hall and shown in schools and football stadiums.

Leipzig needs a reminder.

LEGIDA, the local morph of the Dresden PEGIDA present a threat she thought would remain in the pages of history book.

The anti – Islamist marches have been cordoned off by German Police but she fears the deplorable ideas and spirit of the organization. These elements cannot be physically contained.

After watching Liga Terezin she asked us how we thought the world viewed recent events in Germany.

From my perspective, it is a slippery slope down the mountain and anti-Semitism, discrimination of race and disregard for minorities are on the same curve as Islam phobia.

Oded sees it as battle of civilization which could end in the rubble of religious wars.

The film shown in the Johanniter – acadamies was a trigger for student self-reflection and another forum for worry about the LEGIDA phenomenon.

In Leipzig, the Film Liga Terezin led us beyond the realm of Football and the Holocaust.