Open Letter To Oskar Deutsch : YOUR COMMUNITY HAS FAILED TO SUPPORT BETH

 

o.deutsch@ikg-wien.at

office@ikg-wien.at

Sehr geehter Herr Deutsch

I write to you as a lawyer, as a mum, as a Jew and as a European. As such we have many things in common.

I saw your tweets on Holocaust Memorial Day seeking to underline the responsibility we have to overcome all forms of prejudice and I agree. I then struggle to reconcile those thoughts with the situation in which Beth Alexander finds herself, with respect to your community. Remembering the Holocaust and wishing to counteract the consequences of it, are intrinsically linked to the importance of family and community and of course Judaism.

Beth Alexander is an intelligent, softly spoken lady with no stain on her character. She was a member of your community. She is a loving mother who wishes only to demonstrate that love to her sons.

I wonder frequently, do you actually know why the community has failed to support Beth? Was it the same xenophobia you say we have a responsibility to fight to ensure genocide never happens again? Or now, 10 years down the road, is there a feeling of shame at not acting before and a lack of understanding at how to bridge the gap? It is never too late. Please be honest with yourself about why you have never responded and supported Beth. Please put aside your pride in the interests of giving Sammy and Benjy back their loving mother.

We the Jews of the UK, Israel, the US and as far as Australia are watching and waiting for the brave individual who stands up and questions Beth’s forced alienation from her beloved sons and turns the tide in this tragic situation. You are a person of influence, you have spoken with pride of the achievements to rebuild the Jewish community in Vienna, but I would argue that nothing could be more powerful, as a sign of what the community stands for, than being the agent for change in Sammy, Benjy and Beth’s lives.

You said recently “Das Erinnern dient der Zukunft!” I would argue that where children have traumatic childhoods, remembering these will not serve the future. If nothing changes, the boys’ trauma will stay with them into adulthood. This can be changed with reconciliation and the appropriate support and I strongly believe it is within your gift. If you fail to act, as a community leader, this failure will be your legacy.

Please take this opportunity to use your power and influence to improve the lives of three individuals. I implore you.

Kind regards,

Tamara Franks