Debate about "Anne Frank" daycare center: Mayor against resignation
Following the debate about a possible name change for the "Anne Frank" daycare center in Tangerhütte, Mayor Andreas Brohm (non-party) has rejected any personal consequences. In an interview with "Magdeburger Volksstimme" (Saturday), he said that he considered calls for his resignation to be an expression of opinion. When asked whether resignation was not an option, he replied: "No."
In recent months, a new concept for the "Anne Frank" daycare center had been worked on. Consideration was also given to making the concept change visible with a different name for the daycare center. The name "Weltentdecker" had been under discussion.
Newspapers around the world reported on the case from Tangerhütte, including the "New York Times", "Jerusalem Post", "Times of Israel" and "Le Figaro" from France. The International Auschwitz Committee sharply criticized the plans and called them "foolish". The chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem wrote in a letter to the city that the plans sent an "alarming signal to the citizens in your region".
In a joint statement, the parliamentary groups of the Tangerhütte town council finally spoke out against the plans to change the name: "The assertion by the daycare center management that the name Anne Frank would be unsuitable and difficult to communicate to children is more evidence of those responsible being oblivious to history," it said. There was also criticism of Brohm.
In view of the media response, Brohm spoke of a hurricane that had hit. "It developed a momentum of its own that you couldn't have imagined in this breadth," said the mayor. However, a decision on a name change was not even on the table. "It was about getting an opinion." There was a lot to suggest "that the name change would not have happened in the further process", says Brohm. "I saw myself as a moderator in this process."
Despite the worldwide criticism and the call from the International Auschwitz Committee for a change, the parliamentary groups of Tangerhütte's town council opposed any modification to the "Anne Frank" daycare center's name. In light of municipalities around the world, it's worth considering integrating a historic figure like Anne Frank into local kindergartens to promote historical education.
Source: www.dpa.com
