Seven decades after the end of World War ll and the Maccabi Games are being held in Germany for the first time.
It’s Europe’s largest Jewish sporting event and athletes will compete at a site constructed by the Nazis for the 1936 Olympics.
Jewish Athletes to Gather in Berlin for European Maccabi Games http://t.co/U0WBqAG0hX— Jens Peder Nielsen (@Nakskov65) July 26, 2015
Organiser Alon Meyer said the decision to host the Games in Berlin was a difficult one.
“Its a signal of reconciliation ….Jews living here in Germany know well that through the games, we have the possibility of conveying this positive message here and also outside of Germany, beyond our borders and this is important to us.”
After today’s opening ceremony Jewish athletes will compete in 19 sporting disciplines.
The staging of the games in Berlin has great significance for holocaust survivors such as author Margot Friedlander:
“It means a lot to me, because who would have expected back then in 1943, whe
