JNF serves up stellar speakers

THE JNF NSW annual dinner brought together 750 people last Tuesday night to hear the courageous story of Dr Bernd Wollschlaeger, the son of a highly decorated Nazi officer who challenged his background to eventually find his place in Jewish faith.

Wollschlaeger’s story began as a boy in Germany, where he lived in the building that was once the home of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the German officer who led a failed plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944, and was subsequently executed by the Nazis.

Wollschlaeger recalled his father, a tank commander who was personally presented with a Knight’s Cross by Hitler, telling him stories of German wartime military bravery, meanwhile scoffing at the former resident of their apartments as a traitor.

“I had no doubt that my father was a hero. On the other hand, my mother told me the story of loss, of catastrophe, of horror … and everything lost as a result of the war,” he said.

Ultimately confused by what his father had told him, Wollschlaeger sought to explore German history and the Holocaust, citing the massacre at the Munich Olympics as a turning point.

“I started to read, I started to learn, I started to study. The more I read, the more desperate I became to know the truth [about] what my father did.

“It was in one of his drunken stupors in the evening that he told me, “Bernd, what happened in the East had to happen, because we had to clean up. Somebody had to clean up the mess” … he referred to the Jews. And that disgusted me; deeply disgusted and shocked me,” Wollschlaeger, a general practitioner, said.

From that point he went on to meet Jewish youth and travel to Israel. Over the years to come he began to feel more deeply his connection to Judaism. Converting, emigrating to Israel, and conscription to the IDF were all fixtures of his 20s. Today, he is a committed Jew living with his family in Miami.

The evening raised money for JNF’s 2014 campaign, which is seeking to develop Eliav – a pioneering community located in the Negev. Avigail Ben Aryeh, a representative from Eliav, spoke passionately about the unique community.

Federal Member for Wentworth Malcolm Turnbull was present and encouraged support for JNF. “Its commitment to environmental causes, whether it is water, or reforestation, is remarkable, and an inspiration to all of us,” Turnbull enthused.

PHOEBE ROTH

Dr Bernd Wollschlaeger addressing the JNF annual dinner. Photo: Nadine Saacks