Werner Nachmann (12 August 1925 – 21 January 1988), was a German entrepreneur and politician, and was president of the

Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German: ''Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland'') is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish commu ...

(Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) from 1969 to 1988. He was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

. In 1938 Nachmann fled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and returned to Germany in 1945 as an officer of the French army. He established himself again in

, where he developed his family business. From 1961 to 1988 he was the chairman of the Jewish municipality in Karlsruhe and the advisor on

mikvah A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or ( Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are steadfastly adhered t ...

affairs. In 1962 he became a member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, in 1965 he was subsequently selected in its board of directors and from 1969 onwards he held the presidency. He is considered as an important pioneer of renewed cooperation between the authorities of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

and German-Jewish organizations. For his work Nachmann was often honored during his lifetime, but criticism rose sharply from parts of the German-Jewish community in the early seventies as some found his efforts towards Jewish-German reconciliation as lacking sufficient distance to Germany. In 1972, he served on the organizing committee of the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

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 ...

. He was also a member of the Israeli delegation. In 1986, he received the

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

prize for his services to Jewish-German reconciliation and the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Christians in the Federal Republic of Germany. After his death in 1988, Nachmann was loudly condemned when it was discovered that from 1981 to 1987 he had defrauded about 33 million DM ($17 million in U.S. dollars at the time) from a German government fund intended for victims of the Nazis. The actual whereabouts of the funds remain unknown. Nachmann's successor in office,

Heinz Galinski Heinz Galinski (28 November 1912 – 19 July 1992) was president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) from 1954 to 1963 and 1988 until his death in 1992, and The Holocaust, Holocaust survivor. Early lif ...

, strove intensively for many years to clear up the affair. Nachmann died at the age of 62, from heart failure. , his son, Marc Nachmann, had been named the co-head of the investment-banking unit at

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nachmann, Werner Businesspeople from Karlsruhe 20th-century German Jews 1925 births 1988 deaths Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Politicians from Karlsruhe Presidents of the Central Council of Jews in Germany