KEEPING MEMORIES ALIVE TO STAMP OUT ANTISEMITISM
Oper Frankfurt and our orchestra find the increasing levels of violence and hate, and growing evidence that antisemitism is rife in our city, threatening peaceful coexistence, very worrying. We join in with others appealing to everybody to put an end to this.
One of the reasons cultural life in Frankfurt flourished was that Jewish fellow citizens were, and still are, committed to it. The operatic and orchestral landscape would not be what it is without this commitment. All the more shocking that cultural institutions went along with the Nazis' Aryanisation plans, kicking out respected artists and sending them to their deaths.
After World War II there was hope that there was no place in this city for Antisemitism, but our Jewish fellow citizens and colleagues are now scared to wear a kippah or a Star of David in public.
One of the causes was Hamas' unjustifyable attack on Israel. This hate-fuelled act of terror led to the humanitarian catastrophe in the near East and an unknown number of innocent civilians and hostages. All those affected on Israeli and Palastian sides are in our thoughts. We are increasingly aware that this hatred is spreading in Frankfurt and realise how much our colleagues are affected by this and often feel left to deal with this dreadful problem alone.
We all have a voice, we can all take a stand in debates about hatred and violence and fight Antisemitism, we can all reach out to affected colleagues and citizens and fight for a democratic and peaceful coexistence! So don't sit back and do nothing.
Board of the Frankfurt Opern und Museumsorchester
Thomas Guggeis, General Music Director
Bernd Loebe, Intendant & General Manager of Oper Frankfurt
Dr. Burkhard Bastuck, Chairman of the Frankfurter Museums-Gesellschaft
The boards of the hr-Sinfonieorchester and hr-Bigband Frankfurt
Alain Altinoglu, Chief Conductor of the hr-Sinfonieorchester
Michael Traub, hr-Musikchef