Alfred Grosser (born 1 February 1925 in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

) is a German-French writer, sociologist, and

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

. He is known for his contributions towards the Franco-German cooperation after World War II and for criticizing Israel.

Early life

His father, Paul Grosser, was born in 1880 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and died 1934 in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, France. A director of a children's hospital in

, socialist,

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and Jew, he was forced to immigrate to France in 1933 due to the increasing antisemitism in Nazi Germany. Alfred and his mother, Lily Grosser, were given French citizenship through a decree by the Minister of Justice,

Vincent Auriol Vincent Jules Auriol (; 27 August 1884 – 1 January 1966) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954. Early life and politics Auriol was born in Revel, Haute-Garonne, as the only child of Jacques Antoine Aurio ...

, in 1937; as a result, they were spared possible internment in a French camp following France's declaration of war on Germany, in September 1939, when, under the government of Daladier, German refugees from Nazism were treated as

enemy aliens In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

, along with other German residents.

Career

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F046665-0016, Alfred Grosser

Alfred studied political science and the German language. After 1955, he became a professor at the

Institut d'études politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

. In 1965, Grosser began contributing to many newspapers and broadcasts, including ''

La Croix La Croix primarily refers to: * ''La Croix'' (newspaper), a French Catholic newspaper * La Croix Sparkling Water, a beverage distributed by the National Beverage Corporation La Croix or Lacroix may also refer to: Places * Lacroix-Barrez, a muni ...

'' and ''

Ouest-France ''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départments within the régio ...

''. He was very involved in improving the Franco-German cooperation, and paved the road for the

Élysée Treaty The Élysée Treaty was a treaty of friendship between France and West Germany, signed by President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on 22 January 1963 at the Élysée Palace in Paris. With the signing of this treaty, Germany ...

in 1963. In 1992, he retired as the Director of Studies and Research at the ''Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques''.

Political opinions

Grosser opposed many Israeli government policies, as well as parts of the French government. When asked to describe the way his statements are received, he referred to the "moral cudgel" (''Moralkeule''), a phrase coined by writer

Martin Walser Martin Walser (; born 24 March 1927) is a German writer. Life Walser was born in Wasserburg am Bodensee, on Lake Constance. His parents were coal merchants, and they also kept an inn next to the train station in Wasserburg. He described the ...

. In 1998, when one of Walser's speeches created huge

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

, Grosser publicly sided with Walser. Grosser also holds to the opinion that Israel's politics inherently invoke anti-semitism. In 2003, Grosser left the board of magazine ''

L’Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'' because he believed its reporting on the Middle East was unbalanced. He stated that the editor had reluctantly published his positive critique on a book that criticized Israel, while later printing multiple readers' letters attacking Grosser. Alfred Grosser criticized awarding the

Ludwig Börne Prize The Ludwig Börne Prize (german: Ludwig-Börne-Preis, links=no) is a literary award that is awarded annually by the Frankfurt-based Ludwig-Börne-Stiftung. It is one of the most important of its kind in German-speaking countries. Objective and ...

2007 to

Henryk M. Broder Henryk Marcin Broder (born 20 August 1946, self-designation Henryk Modest Broder) is a Polish-born German journalist, author, and TV personality. Broder is known for polemics, columns, and comments in written and audiovisual media. Starting as ...

through ''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

'' publisher

Helmut Markwort Helmut Markwort (born 8 December 1936 in Darmstadt) is a German journalist and former editor-in-chief of the German weekly news magazine ''Focus'' from 1993 to 2010. He is a member of the Landtag of Bavaria (state parliament) for the liberal Fre ...

, feeling that both were neither worthy of the prize nor the handing in the Paulskirche. Grosser was invited by the city of Frankfurt to give the main speech at a

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

commemorative meeting on 9 November 2010 in the

Paulskirche St Paul's Church (german: Paulskirche) is a former Protestant church in Frankfurt, Germany, used as a national assembly hall. Its important political symbolism dates back to 1848 when the Frankfurt Parliament convened there, the first publicl ...

. Mayor Roth was criticized for inviting him by members of the

Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German name: Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish communi ...

and others, but she stood by her invitation. They threatened to walk out should Grosser "fail regarding Israel". In the end, the speech was delivered without disturbance.

Selected publications

*''Deutschlandbilanz. Geschichte Deutschlands seit 1945'', 1970 (Germany in Our Time- a Political History of the Postwar Years, 1974) *''Das Bündnis'', 1981 *''Versuchte Beeinflussung'', 1981 *''Der schmale Grat der Freiheit'', 1981 * ''Western Alliance V815'' (1982, from French) *''Das Deutschland im Westen'', Carl Hanser Verlag, München 1985, *''Frankreich und seine Außenpolitik'', 1986 *''Mit Deutschen streiten'', 1987 *''Mein Deutschland'', 1993 *''Deutschland in Europa'', 1998 *''Was ich denke.'', November 2000 *''Wie anders sind die Deutschen?'', 2002 *''Wie anders ist Frankreich'', 2005 *''Die Früchte ihres Baumes. Ein atheistischer Blick auf die Christen'', September 2005 *''Der Begriff Rache ist mir völlig fremd'' in: Martin Doerry (editor): ''Nirgendwo und überall zu Haus. Gespräche mit Überlebenden des Holocaust'' (Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt), München 2006 (also on CD) pp. 120 – 129 *''Die Frage nach der Leitkultur'' in:

Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha (born 22 February 1951 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish sociologist and cultural scientist, working in Germany. Biography and career After the unexpected death of her father Robertson-von Trotha left Oba ...

(ed.): ''Kultur und Gerechtigkeit'' (= Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 2), Baden-Baden 2007, *''Von Auschwitz nach Jerusalem (Über Deutschland und Israel)'', Rowohlt-Verlag 2009,

Honours

* 1975:

Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: ''German Publishers and Booksellers Association''), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche i ...

, for his role as "middle man between French and Germans, non-believers and believers, Europeans and people from other continents"; this gave him an earlier opportunity to speak in the Paulskirche. * 1978: Theodor-Heuss-Prize * 1995: Cicero Redner Prize for Rhetoric * 1996:

Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim The Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim has been awarded by the City of Mannheim since 1954. It was donated on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the National Theatre. The prize is awarded every two years and endowed with €20,000. It i ...

* 1998: Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sciences morales et politiques * 2004: Abraham Geiger-Prize of

Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg Abraham Geiger Kolleg is a rabbinic seminary at the University of Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany. History Abraham Geiger Kolleg was founded 1999 as the only seminary in Germany since the Holocaust, when the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des J ...

University of Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...

* Grand Cross, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany *

Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

Interviews

''Israels Politik fördert den Antisemitismus''
Martina Doering interviews Alfred Grosser, ''Berliner Zeitung'', 15 August 2006. German
''Ich muss als Jude nicht für Israel sein''
Interview by Stefan Reinecke and Daniel Bax with Alfred Grosser in

Die Tageszeitung ''Die Tageszeitung'' (, “The Daily Newspaper”), is counted as being one of modern Germany's most important newspapers and amongst the top seven. taz is stylized as ''die tageszeitung'' and commonly referred to as ''taz'', is a cooperative-own ...

, 4 April 2007. German
''Sofort heißt es: Antisemitismus!''
Tobias Kaufman interviews Alfred Grosser, following his new book "Von Auschwitz nach Jerusalem" (''From Auschwitz to Jerusalem)'', 18 September 2009. German
''"Ich bin genetisch optimistisch"''
Talk about "Von Auschwitz nach Jerusalem" with Moritz Reininghaus,

28 September 2009. German
I have always wanted Europe"
Interview by Euronews (12 May 2010; retrieved 13 November 2010). English

about his upcoming speech in the Paulskirche on 9 November 2010.

3sat In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfie ...

"Kulturzeit": ''Kritik an Grosser. Zentralrat lehnt Politologen als Redner ab.'' From the recapitulation: (Die Kritiker der Einladung) ''begründeten ihre Ablehnung ... mit Grossers Kritik an der Politik Israels sowie dessen Unterstützung des Schriftstellers Martin Walser. ... Walser hatte anlässlich der Verleihung des Friedenspreises des Deutschen Buchhandels 1998 von der "Moralkeule Auschwitz" gesprochen ...'' German.
Author Alfred Grosser is controversial choice for Kristallnacht speech
Deutsche Welle (interview 8 November 2010, retrieved 13 November 2010). English.

Reviews

über das Buch ''Wie anders ist Frankreich.''
Ursula Homann ''Hinwendung zur Welt Warum Alfred Grosser nicht an Gott glaubt''
über das Buch ''Die Früchte ihres Baumes. Ein atheistischer Blick auf die Christen.''

References

External links

Artikel at his 80th birthday in ''Die Welt'', 1 February 2005.

1 June 2005.
Talk with Alfred Grosser
18 June 2008 in Paris.

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

: ''Ist die Meinungsfreiheit für Israelkritiker wirklich bedroht?'' 4 November 2010. Discussion about Grosser's support for

and the "Moralkeule" (moral club). Includes precise quotes. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grosser, Alfred German political scientists German essayists Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French political scientists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France 1925 births Living people French essayists Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) French male essayists German male essayists