Jewish Community Dances Where Nazis Once Marched

By COLlive reporter

At the historic Karlsruhe Palace in Karlsruhe, Germany, a grand event was held to celebrate the dedication of a new Sefer Torah to Chabad of Baden, Germany.

The Torah was written in memory of Rabbi Yechezkel Reichman OBM, son of the Mashpia Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Hakohen Reichman OBM.

Participating in the event were Strasbourg Chief Rabbi Shmuel Akiva Schlesinger, Attorney General of Germany – Dr. Peter Frank, Mayor Frank Mentrup, activist Rami Suleiman, along with the extended Reichman family from New York and Israel.

Among the family participating were Mrs. Rachel Reichman of Tel Aviv, Mrs. Yaffa Ginzburg, R’ Yanky Reichman and family of Crown Heights, R’ Eliezer Reichman and family of Tel Aviv, R’ Moshe and Leah Shneor of Kfar Chabad, R’ Binyamin and Zhava Axelrod of Petach Tikva, Eli Reichman of Tel Aviv, R’ Moishy Reichman of New York, R’ Shneor and Faigy Ida of Kfar Chabad and many grandchildren.

In the palace, the final letters of the Torah were completed by the members of the Reichman family who sponsored the writing of the Torah, as well as other donors, including Shliach Rabbi Eliezer Chitrik of Nuremberg. The MC was Rabbi Yochanan Gordon of Munich, Germany.

Speakers included Rabbi Mordechai Mendelsohn, Shliach in Baden, Rabbi Schlesinger and Rabbi Schneur Trebnik, who spoke on behalf of the Shluchim. Other speakers included the Attorney General of Germany, Dr. Frank, and the Mayor, Dr. Mantrop.

Joyous singing was led by singer Yishai Lapidot and musician David Nachshon, who traveled especially for the event.

After the Torah was complete, the large procession marched proudly to the city’s main street and the central Marktplatz Square. The large procession then marched towards the memorial located where a Shul was destroyed in the infamous Kristallnacht, under heavy security and while emotionally singing “Am Yisrael Chai.”

From there, the procession continued through the heart of the city towards the Chabad Center, where the Hakafos and Seduas Mitzvah were held.

Also attending were Shluchim families Aharonov – Asan, Barkan – Dusseldorf, Gordon – Munich, Gurevich – Offenbach, Havlin – Frankfurt, Chitrik – Nuremberg, Trebnik – Ulm, Rabinovich – Bad Homburg, and Friedman – Munich.