As the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and the child of a Holocaust survivor, I have found that the lessons of World War II and the Holocaust greatly influence my professional and personal life.
During my trip to Germany and Poland, I have reflected on those lessons while visiting the towns in which my father and family members lived — and died. After an incredible time in Mannheim, Germany, where my father — who had been a rabbi there before World War II — was honored, my sister and I went to Poland to see how my father and his family lived. I know how they died.
The Rosenthal family came from Beuthen, Germany, in Upper Silesia, the part of Germany that became Poland after the war.
Bytom is one of the oldest cities in Silesia. Jews had lived in Beuthen — now Bytom, Poland - -since the 11th century. It was a vibrant Jewish… more »
U.S. Hosts G8 Summit
On May 18-19, 2012, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the EU joined President Barack Obama at Camp David for the annual G8 Summit. The leaders met to address major global economic, political, and security challenges, including energy and climate change, food security and nutrition, Afghanistan’s economic transition and transitions taking place across the Middle East and North Africa.
In his remarks at the closing of the Summit, President Obama said, “For the past three years, our nations have worked together and with others first to rescue a global economy from freefall, then to wrestle it back to a path of recovery and growth. Our progress has been tested… more »
‘Fifty Years of Progress in Ten’
About the Author: Maja Boehm is an information specialist at the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
The Afghan Ambassador to Germany, Professor Dr. A. Rahman Ashraf, smiles warmly at the group of four young Afghan civil society leaders. They smile back, timidly. “This is the best day in my life in the past eighteen 18 months since I became Ambassador to Germany!” he proclaims. The group now smiles with a more complex mixture of embarrassment at being in the spotlight and pride, obviously moved by his words. He continues: “When I was teaching at the university in Kabul, I was hoping that one day my students would go out and present Afghanistan to the world. And now you are doing just that.”
The Ambassador’s reaction was perhaps more personal than the reactions in some of the other meetings to which I accompanied the group, but it is hardly atypical. In their day in Berlin — part of a week-long tour through Germany, Hungary, and Spain, from April 15-22 — these four… more »
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the German-American Fulbright Program — one of the largest Fulbright Programs in the world. From March 18-21, the German-American Fulbright Commission held its annual Berlin Seminar and celebrated the program’s success alongside the government of Germany and the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. Organizers and attendees recognized the Fulbright Program’s decades of achievements and its growing network of 40,000 alumni.
The 48th Annual Munich Security Conference took place February 3-4, 2012, in Munich, Germany. In this video from the U.S.-European Media Hub, U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany Philip D. Murphy notes that this year marks the first-ever participation by two U.S. Cabinet officials in this event. Ambassador Murphy also describes how the conference has changed over the years, but points out that “one thing that hasn’t changed over 48 years is how important the American role is, and how importantly we take that role.”
During the conference, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “…I have now traveled to Europe 27 times as Secretary of State. President Obama has visited ten times. So when President Obama says that Europe remains the cornerstone of our engagement with the world, those are not just reassuring words; that is the reality. Europe is our partner of first resort.”
Secretary Clinton also addressed recent developments in Syria. She said, “Here in Munich, I have had productive discussions with a number of my counterparts concerning a list of critical issues. One that kept coming up is the ongoing violence in Syria. As a bankrupt regime clings to power by shelling its own people in their homes, we have seen a living nightmare play out in the city of Homs. It’s a nightmare that has been repeated across Syria over these past many months. Almost 30 days — almost 30 years to the day after the infamous Hama massacre, the international community must send Assad a clear message: By repeating the horrors of Syria’s past, you have lost your place in Syria’s future.”
More information about the Munich Security Conference may be found here. You can read Secretary Clinton’s remarks at the conference here.
Team USA: An Inspiration to Girls Around the World
About the Author: Dr. Jill Biden is the Second Lady of the United States.
I just returned home from an incredible trip to Germany where I was truly honored to lead the Presidential Delegation to the Women’s World Cup soccer final. While in Frankfurt, we were all thrilled to have the opportunity to meet the team and their families, and to cheer proudly and wave the U.S. flag for our heroes on the field.
As I told the team last night, though the final outcome of the game was not what we had hoped, we left the stadium so proud of this incredible group of women — and I am sure everyone at home feels the same way.
Women’s World Cup Final: Dr. Jill Biden & U.S. Delegation Arrive in Frankfurt To Cheer on Team USA
About the Author: Courtney O’Donnell serves as Communications Director to Dr. Jill Biden.
Game Day is here! The day of the Women’s World Cup Final is here, and the U.S. Delegation has arrived in Frankfurt to cheer on Team USA.
The delegation landed in Germany early this morning and had a chance to visit with some of the friends and family members of the team. Ambassador Phil Murphy, Dr. Biden, and Chelsea Clinton addressed the group in an atmosphere of growing excitement, pride, and anticipation.
Dr. Biden thanked Team USA for honoring our country with their amazing performance — and also noted that the strong foundation for that has been laid by Title IX in the United States. She wished the team good luck from everyone back at the White House and a proud nation back home.
Chelsea Clinton also shared her thanks and excitement with the team, stressing the power of sport and how much this event means to women and girls around the… more »
Women’s World Cup Finals: Sports Diplomacy on the Soccer Field
About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Acting Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
Across America and around the world, people will be cheering the Women’s National teams from the United States and Japan. Today is a wonderful day to celebrate the global sport of soccer and the way it brings people together from Japan, the United States, and places in-between.
President Barack Obama announced Friday that Dr. Jill Biden will lead the official United States’ delegation to the match, which also includes U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany Philip D. Murphy and Chelsea Clinton.
In 1991, I was a sophomore at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Big hair was in, Silence of the Lambs won the Oscar for best picture, and Germany was newly reunited. That fall, I also met my future husband and the United States won the first-ever Women’s World Cup (WWC), which was held in China. Fast forward to 2011. Twenty years changes a lot — pixie cuts are cool, True Grit is this year’s movie, and a quarter of Germans have no memories of a divided country.
I am now a Foreign Service Officer posted to the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, sitting in a stadium in Germany with my husband and our two excited kids, watching a new group of U.S. women take on the world. However much things have changed, however, some stayed the same. The United States remains a women’s soccer power house and an inspiration to young athletes around the world. This year’s refusal… more »
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany to the White House for an official visit and State Dinner on June 7, 2011. During the arrival ceremony, President Obama said:
“Today marks the first official visit and State Dinner for a European leader during my presidency. It’s only fitting. The transatlantic alliance is the cornerstone — is the heart — of our efforts to promote peace and prosperity around the world. And… more »
![Auschwitz, Poland, as seen June 6, 2012. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0724_auschwitz_m.jpg)
![President Barack Obama along with other world leaders wave during a photo opportunity at the G-8 Summit on May 19, 2012 at Camp David, Maryland. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0522_g8_obam1_m.jpg)
![Afghan civil society leaders -- Ms. Razia Arooje, who is a national program officer for the Kabul office of an international development organization; Ms. Freshta Karimi, who is the director of Da Qanoon Ghushtonky, a legal organization supporting women and children; Mr. Mohammad Sadiq Mohibi, who is an advisor to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and the Disabled; and Dr. Mirwais Rahimzai, the country director for the Center for Human Services/University Research -- participate in a panel discussion in Berlin, Germany, April 2012. [State Department photo by John G. Self/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0501_civil_society_afghanistan_m.jpg)
![American Fulbright grantees gather to discuss experiences and share best practices in Berlin, Germany, March 19, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0430_fulbright_grantees_m.jpg)
![Dr. Biden, Ambassador Murphy, and Chelsea Clinton with Team USA, Frankfurt, July 2011. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0718_biden_m.jpg)
![Dr. Biden, Ambassador Murphy, Chelsea Clinton smile with Team USA fans, Germany, 2011. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0718_biden_murphy_frankfurt_m.jpg)
![Secretary Clinton meets with U.S. Women's National Team Soccer Players, June 2011. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_s_women_world_cup_m.jpg)
![U.S. Women's Soccer Player Abby Wambach Scores a Goal, Germany, July 10, 2011. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0715_women_world_cup_m.jpg)
![President Obama presents German Chancellor Merkel the Medal of Freedom, June 7, 2011. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_00607_merkel_obama_m.jpg)
