Charlotte Knobloch (born 29 October 1932, as Charlotte Neuland) is the former President of Central Council of Jews in Germany () from 2006 to 2010. She is also Vice President of the European Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress. She has for many years been one of the primary leaders of the Jewish community in Munich, as President of the ' since 1985.

Biography

Charlotte Knobloch was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, in 1932, into a well-to-do Jewish family of lawyers. She is the daughter of Munich lawyer and Bavarian senator Fritz Neuland. Her mother Margarethe was a born Christian, but converted to Judaism upon marrying Neuland. However, her parents divorced in 1936. She was subsequently raised by her grandmother Albertine Neuland. Upon the arrest of her father, Knobloch was saved by the former housekeeper of the Neuland family, who took her in her hand and brought her to her Christian family in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

, pretending she was her own illegitimate daughter. Charlotte Neuland married the late Samuel Knobloch in 1951, and has three children. One of her achievements is the Jewish Centre () in Munich, with a new principal Ohel Jakob synagogue and a Jewish museum. She was made an honorary citizen of Munich in 2005. Knobloch is especially concerned with the problem of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

in Eastern Europe. In the World Jewish Congress, she works to promote the German-speaking Jewish communities and to build bridges to Jewish communities in other countries. She took a controversial stand against the '' Stolpersteine'' in Munich, stumbling blocks on pavement inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution, effectively blocking their collocation on public grounds until today. In January 2009, she claimed that the Central Council was temporarily breaking off contact with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

because of the lifting of the excommunication of controversial bishop Richard Williamson.

Other activities (selection)

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees * German Friends of the Hebrew University, Member of the Board of Trustees * '' Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie'', Member of the Board * Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Member of the Board of Trustees *

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees * Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Scholarship Fund, Patron

Recognition

In 2008 Knobloch was awarded the Great Cross of Merit with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In January 2014, Knobloch was honored as the first Distinguished Service Awardee by the

Obermayer German Jewish History Awards The Obermayer German Jewish History Awards were established in 2000 by Dr. Arthur S. Obermayer to pay tribute to non-Jewish Germans who have made outstanding voluntary contributions to preserving the memory of German Jewish communities. These Award ...

In media

The book by Michael Schleicher was published in 2009, . The TV film ''Annas Heimkehr'' is based on Charlotte Knobloch's life during World War II.

References

External links