Embassy Row

German guilt

The German ambassador expressed the shame felt by all Germans over the genocide against Jews in World War II, as he addressed a Holocaust remembrance observance this week in Alexandria, home of one of the oldest synagogues in the Washington area.

“We remember the murder of 6 million European Jews carried out in the name of Germany,” Ambassador Klaus Scharioth told the Holocaust Days of Remembrance Ceremony.

“We remember the unspeakable suffering brought to the Jewish people, to Europe and to the whole of humankind. The Holocaust represents a collapse of all civilized values that has no parallel.”

Although he was born in 1946, a year after the war ended, Mr. Scharioth carries the guilt of the generation that brought Adolf Hitler to power.

“It fills us with shame,” the ambassador said of the Holocaust. “It is the moral disaster of our history, and I bow my head before the victims and the few survivors. I also bow my head before those courageous enough to help the survivors to survive and those who gave their lives trying to preserve human dignity.”

Mr. Scharioth said Holocaust remembrance ceremonies will guarantee that the world does not forget the tragedy.

“More than 60 years after the end of the war, we must meet the challenge of ensuring that in the future, remembrance does not become something remote and abstract, obscured by the veil of history,” he said.

He congratulated Alexandria for establishing the first Holocaust remembrance day in the Washington area in 1987. The city is home to Temple Beth El, established in 1859.

EU open house

Only 17 years ago, the tiny nation of Slovenia was an agenda item at meetings of the European Union.

“What do we do with Slovenia?” Ambassador Samuel Zbogar yesterday recalled European leaders asking after his nation declared independence from Yugoslavia.

Today, Slovenia is a member of the European Union and “setting the agenda,” he said, referring to his country’s leadership role as the current holder of the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc. As part of his duties in Washington, Mr. Zbogar is the EU host of the annual European embassy tours that begin this weekend.

“We are very excited about the tours,” he told Embassy Row yesterday. “This is a way to bring the EU closer to the Washington public.”

Last year, more than 35,000 visitors toured embassies that participated in the European Union Open House. Tomorrow, several embassies will open doors that are usually closed to the public. Later in the month, embassies from other countries will join the tour.

Many of the European embassies “are among Washington’s historic and architectural treasures,” the EU said in announcing the tours. Diplomats are calling the tours a “shortcut to Europe.”

The Austrian Embassy will feature Alpine dancers, while the Hungarians will give folk dancing lessons and offer samples of Hungarian goulash and wine. The Czechs promise music normally associated with Scotland, as they present the bagpipe band Chodska Vlna, and the French will present the Mediterranean band Gibraltar, magic shows and, of course, French wine and food.

The British Embassy is trying to promote itself as the home to modern innovation and get visitors past the traditional views of England, Scotland and Wales, although the Scots still promise visitors a taste of haggis and a shot of scotch.

“We want to promote the fact that we are a multicultural country,” said Melanie Hinton, the embassy’s public affairs manager.

Later in the month, embassies from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East will join the celebration.

The times and dates vary with the embassies, but a full schedule is available at the Web site of the chief organizer, Cultural Tourism DC (www.culturaltourismdc.org).

• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.