Heinz Galinski

Who was Heinz Galinski?

Heinz Galinski was president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany from 1988 until his death in 1992.

Galinski was born in Marienburg in West Prussia. In 1943, he was deported to Auschwitz. After also spending time in the concentration camps Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen he was liberated by British troops on 20 April 1945. Unlike many other Holocaust survivors, Galinski remained in Germany after the end of World War II. From 1949 to 1992, he was chairman of the Jewish congregation of Berlin. In 1987, Galinski became an honorary citizen of this city. In 1988, he then succeeded Werner Nachmann as the head of the Central Council of Jews, the most important Jewish organization in Germany; he kept this position until his death in 1992 in Berlin.

Beginning in 1989, the Heinz-Galinski-Preis was awarded in his name. In 1995, the Heinz-Galinski Schule, a Jewish Elementary school in Berlin opened in his name.

In September and November 1998 Galinski's grave was the victim of two bombings, which both completely destroyed his grave stone. The motivation behind these attacks was probably anti-Semitism, but the crimes have not been solved.