Eighty-one years after the Holocaust, in a scenario that once seemed inconceivable, Israel and Germany have become allies. Germans defend Israel in the international arena, and Israel provides military defense for Germany.

In an interview marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, one of Israel’s most prominent friends in the Bundestag, explained why Berlin will continue purchasing weapons from Israel and supporting it in the international arena despite imposing sanctions on it during the recent Gaza war.

He discussed whether the future generation in Germany is forgetting the Holocaust and how to combat the fact that Jews fear wearing Jewish symbols in Germany.

Q: Less than 81 years after the Holocaust, Germany uses an Israeli missile system to protect the lives of its citizens from potential threats. What feelings did this evoke in you on International Holocaust Remembrance Day?

Wadephul: On 27 Jan. 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp was liberated. Auschwitz embodies the monstrous crime of the Shoah, a crime planned and carried out by Germans, on orders given in German.

Today, Israel, the state where victims of the Shoah found refuge, also contributes to Germany’s security. A tangible expression of this is the purchase of the Arrow 3 air defense system from Israel. I am humbled to think that this is actually possible today.

Q: Are you concerned that in the future a young German generation will arise that forgets the Holocaust and loses the ability to understand the lessons of the Holocaust and World War II?

A: The rise of right-wing parties, in particular across Europe, concerns me greatly. The support that they are finding among young people is especially worrying.

The fact that many young people have never heard of the Shoah—in Germany, that applies to more than one in 10 teenagers and young adults. That is something we urgently need to change. In some European countries, the figures are even higher. It shows that remembrance is not something that can be taken for granted. We need to work every day anew to keep the memory alive.

Q: Many Jews in Germany today are afraid to wear a kippah on the street or wear a Star of David necklace. What can be done to make Jews feel comfortable with their identity in Germany?

A: In the past two years, the number of crimes with an antisemitic background in Germany has reached a new peak.

The fact that Jews are saying, ‘I no longer feel safe in Germany,’ or that they are warning their children not to speak Hebrew in public, shames me to the depths of my soul. That is why the Federal government is taking a clear, firm and rigorous stand against all forms of antisemitism.

Jews are a natural and integral part of our society—and I want them to be able to feel that this is so without any reservation.”

Originally published by Israel Hayom.