More than 800 film industry professionals in Germany and Austria have signed an open letter opposing antisemitism, with the number of signatories continuing to grow.
The signatories include a wide range of directors, writers, producers and other film industry professionals. Those signing the letter include directors Caroline link, whose “Nowhere in Africa” won an Oscar; Stefan Ruzowitzky, whose “The Counterfeiters” also won an Oscar; and Marie Kreutzer, whose “Corsage” won a prize at Cannes (all pictured above). Further directors include Julia von Heinz, Kilian Riedhof, Dominik Graf, David Wnendt, Dani Levy and Doris Dörrie.
Others signing the letter include European Film Academy director Matthijs Wouter Knol, “Resident Evil” producer Martin Moszkowicz, producers Oliver Berben and Fabian Gasmia, and Jürgen Prochnow, an actor best known for the Oscar-nominated “Das Boot.”
The letter was originally published on Nov. 9, the anniversary of Kristallnacht in 1938, when the Nazis in Germany attacked Jewish people and property. The letter was issued to address the rise in antisemitism in Germany since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched terrorist attacks in Israel, followed by ongoing retaliatory action by Israel against Hamas in Gaza.
The letter states: “We, the undersigned representatives of German film, condemn all forms of antisemitism, even where it hides behind the mask of supposedly emancipatory discourse or deliberately appears vaguely as ‘anti-imperialism’ and ‘anti-capitalism.’ We stand unreservedly in solidarity with all Jews in the world who are threatened to life and limb.”
It continues, “We fully support the right of the state of Israel to exist as guaranteed by the UN and the right to self-defense — and in this we share the position of all democratic institutions and parties in the Federal Republic of Germany. We condemn the terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel without ifs and buts. Nothing can justify or relativize the pogrom of 7 October 2023.”
“We are united by the grief that Jews can no longer feel safe in Germany either and that antisemitic forces are now making themselves heard, putting Jewish lives in danger and threatening their supporters through inhumane statements as well as anonymous calls and campaigns,” the letter adds. “This must not happen anywhere in the world and certainly not in the country of the perpetrators, the country that is responsible for the Shoah … We will continue to give antisemitism — however it tries to mask itself — no space in the future.”
The letter can be read in full here.
