On behalf of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), we write to express grave concerns
regarding the nomination of Colonel Douglas Macgregor, United States Army (Retired),
to be our nation’s next Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany.
We were deeply disturbed by his reported statement that trivializes the Holocaust,
describing the crucial contemporary German principle of “coping with the past” as “sort
of a sick mentality that says that generations after generations must atone sins of what
happened in 13 years of German history and ignore the other 1,500 years of Germany.”
That statement mirrors those of the most extreme leaders of Germany’s antisemitic
fringe. For example, Alexander Gauland, co-leader of an intolerant political faction that
is boycotted by the German Jewish community over endemic antisemitism, notoriously
said, “Hitler and the Nazis are just bird shit in more than 1,000 years of successful
German history.”
And Björn Höcke, another extremist figure in that movement,
criticized Holocaust commemoration entirely, saying, “These stupid politics of coming
to grips with the past cripple us - we need nothing other than a 180-degree reversal on
the politics of remembrance.”
The United States should not send an ambassador to Germany with the same views as
such antisemitic extremists who downplay Nazi crimes and fight against the
contemporary German fundamental commitment to respect human dignity.
A nominee with such a view would also be deeply out of touch with the views of the
U.S. Congress, which passed the Never Again Education Act (H.R. 943 / S. 2085) by
voice vote earlier this year. As part of that bill, which both of you co-sponsored and
ADL was proud to endorse, the U.S. Congress declared it “a national imperative to
educate students in the United States so that they may explore the lessons that the
Holocaust provides for all people, sensitize communities to the circumstances that gave
rise to the Holocaust, and help youth be less susceptible to the falsehood of Holocaust
denial and distortion” such as “efforts to excuse or minimize the events of the
Holocaust.”
We also want to bring to your attention the nominee’s reported statement in 2012 that
“what you have are numbers of people who call themselves neocons. They operate in a
variety of settings in the government and in the media, and they support or advocate, for
all intents and purposes, unconditional support for whatever the Israeli government
wants to do. They are by no means the majority and they are by no means representative
of what I would call Americans who happen to be Jewish.”
The idea that a small cabal of disloyal Jews in media or government are pushing for
slavish support to Israel is an overt expression of antisemitism, and it was condemned
overwhelmingly earlier this session of Congress, 407-23 by the House (H. Res. 183) and
in a unanimous vote by the Senate (S. Res. 189). It is both offensive and potentially
dangerous.
With the clear rise in antisemtism and antisemitic incidents in Europe, Germany has not
been immune. The German government’s latest annual statistics documented a 13% rise
in antisemitic hate crimes, and ADL’s 2019 public opinion survey found that 42% of
respondents in Germany feel that “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them
in the Holocaust.” We need an American ambassador in Berlin who will forcefully push
back against antisemitism and the minimizing of the Holocaust, not somebody whose
past statements indicate that he might encourage those hateful ideas.
This nominee has also reportedly made disturbing remarks about immigrants and
Muslims that raise further concerns about his suitability.
We urge you to ensure that no nominee is confirmed for this important post unless he or
she can genuinely allay the fundamental and egregious concerns we have raised and
similar ones that may have been raised by others. In our view, the Senate’s role in the
confirmation process is equally as important as the President’s responsibility to nominate
suitable U.S. officials.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO and National Director
So these politicians ultimately are pro holocaust, but they simply oppose the 24/7 reminders that Jewish supremacists push upon us.
I hope this ambassador makes it. Even though he is pro holocaust, he at least is pushing ahead at a new future, rather than looking back at fake history from 75+ years ago.
