​​Since the days of the Roman Empire Jews have lived in what is Germany today. This is a long and proud story of Jewish perseverance and achievement. However, it is a long story of anti-Jewish prejudice, hate and persecution as well. The horrible reality of the Shoah did not fall from the skies. All the elements of an aggressive anti-Semitism were in place before Hitler came to power. And anti-Semitism has not died with Auschwitz. What can we do to come to a life which recognizes diversity while fighting together for the common value of human dignity?

Prof. Des. h. c. Manfred Lahnstein is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the ZEIT Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius in Hamburg. He runs his own consultancy company Lahnstein & Partner International Consultants and is member of several supervisory and advisory boards. Lahnstein started his federal political career in 1977 as State Secretary in Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance. Between 1980 and 1982 he served as the Head of the Chancellor’s Office. Subsequently, in 1982, Lahnstein became Germany’s Federal Minister of Finance under Chancellor Helmut Schmidt .
Lahnstein has been a professor of cultural management for 25 years and is author of six books and numerous articles and essays. He was the president of the German-Israeli Association for over a decade and has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Hamburg and Haifa. He is an honorary Chairman of the Board of Governors of Haifa University .