Bayern Munich donate 100,000 euros for synagogue reconstruction

Bayern Munich are donating 100,000 euros (121,000 dollars) for the reconstruction of a local synagogue, the Bundesliga champions said on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich also said they are adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism in another effort to further strengthen their culture of remembrance.

Jan. 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 76 years since Soviet soldiers liberated the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

The synagogue in Munich’s Reichenbach street was opened in 1931 but badly damaged during the November 1938 pogroms and World War II.

“I will like to thank Bayern Munich from the bottom of my heart for their generous donation to the preservation of the historic synagogue,” said Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria.

She spoke of an “extraordinary contribution to the preservation and continuation of Jewish heritage in our city.”

Munich president Herbert Hainer said that “for many years, Bayern Munich have been pursuing a culture of remembrance in various ways with the aim of combating racism and discrimination of all kinds.

“It concerns the need to engage in a social debate on this and to reject any form of exclusion and hatred.”