Munich (dpa / lby) - Even after several decades at the head of the Jewish community in Munich and Upper Bavaria (ikg), Charlotte Knobloch is not tired of her job. "I'll keep going as long as I can," said the ikg President, who has been in office since 1985, on Sunday before a ceremony to mark her 90th birthday the day before. On the way to work in the morning, the view of the Jewish center, including the synagogue, elementary school and day-care center, gives her strength. "I'm happy every time I see the buildings, the people, the children who go to school," explained Knobloch, who was also President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany from 2006 to 2010.
At the same time, the responsibility is great. Her goal is a good, Jewish life and that people can move freely, "that the kippa is not the decisive factor, but the person as such," said the ikg president and Holocaust survivor, with a view to increasing anti-Semitism to the point of hostilities on the open road.
Knobloch spent her birthday outside of Munich, with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. "The last three days have been fantastic," she enthused. In the beginning she was not so enthusiastic about a big celebration for her 90th birthday. "But then I understood, it's only once."
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, had announced that they would attend the ceremony in the Ohel-Jakob Synagogue. The celebration was to be musically framed by star violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
