Dieter Graumann (born 20 August 1950 in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...

as David Graumann) is an

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jurist and economist. From 28 November 2010 to 30 November 2014, he was President 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 has been Vice President of the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...

since 6 May 2013. He succeeded

Charlotte Knobloch Charlotte Knobloch (born 29 October 1932, as Charlotte Neuland) is the former President of Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) from 2006 to 2010. She is also Vice President of the European Jewish Congress and ...

in both positions.

Life

David Graumann was born in 1950 in Ramat Gan, Israel, the son of Polish

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

. His parents met at a concentration camp in

Zeilsheim Zeilsheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk (Frankfurt am Main), Ortsbezirk West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Zeilsheim-Ost, Zeilsheim-Süd and Zeilsheim-Nord. As the westernmost district ...

, Germany. His parents immigrated to Germany with him when he was only one year old, settling 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 ...

. Soon after their transplant, his name was changed to ''Dieter'', an attempt to conceal his Jewish identity in post-war Germany. After completing his Abitur, Graumann studied economics at the University of Frankfurt and law at King's College London, completing his doctoral thesis on the European Economic Community in 1979. Following his graduation, he worked at the Deutsche Bundesbank for two years, also serving as President of Makkabi Frankfurt, an organization of which he is now honorary president. Before his presidency of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Graumann's work revolved around his private Assets Management practice, along with participation in various German Jewish organizations in his hometown of Frankfurt. In 2009, Graumann announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, a position which he won. He was the first president of the council who did not personally survive the Holocaust.

Presidency of the Central Council of Jews in Germany

During the UEFA Euro 2012 Poland/Ukraine, Graumann implored the German National Team to visit Auschwitz or

Babi Yar Babi Yar (russian: Ба́бий Яр) or Babyn Yar ( uk, Бабин Яр) is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. T ...

. The German Team did visit Auschwitz, however, Graumann criticized the small team delegation of three players and comments regarding the visit by Team Manager

Oliver Bierhoff Oliver Bierhoff (born 1 May 1968) is a German football official and former player who played as a forward. He has previously served as the national team director of the German Football Association. A tall, strong and prolific goalscorer, Bierh ...

. In 2012, Graumann heavily criticized the decision of a Cologne court to label

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...

as genital mutilation, labeling the decision religiously insensitive and "cold". Also in 2012, Graumann published a book, ''Nachgeboren – Vorbelastet? Die Zukunft des Judentums in Deutschland,'' concerning Jewish life in Germany, specifically analyzing what he saw as new threats to German Jewry from leftist anti-Zionists and Islamism. In 2013, Graumann heavily criticized the official response to an antisemitic attack by a youth on an Offenbach

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

in a mall. In 2014, Graumann's statements connecting European antisemitism to Israel-Hamas violence and comparing antisemitism in pro-Palestinian organizations to the Holocaust garnered heavy criticism as trivialization of the Holocaust. On 31 October 2014, Graumann announced that he would not seek another term as President of the Central Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graumann, Dieter 1950 births Living people Israeli Jews 20th-century German Jews People from Ramat Gan