The German commissioner for combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, Felix Klein, visited a primary school in Berlin on Friday to find out about the situation of Jewish refugees in Germany.
According to the Jewish Community of Berlin, there are currently 3,500 Jewish Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Germany. Most of them are being aided by the Berlin Jewish community, Zentralrat Der Juden reported.
Klein visited the refugees along with their host families at a Jewish primary school in Berlin, speaking to them about their situation. Approximately 50 Jewish Ukrainian refugees have been given accommodations with host families, with nine children beginning school. Adults are also being given German lessons.
Klein called their commitment to helping the refugees “exemplary.”
“The Jewish communities in Germany were also heavily involved in the aid measures from the very beginning – among other things, through family and language connections in Ukraine, they were able to quickly assess the needs and organize help quickly and unbureaucratically – as we can also see here today in the Masorti School. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for this,” Klein said.
Klein added that Germany had a responsibility to help the Jewish refugees.
“What is important now is that we offer a safe haven to people, some of whom have experienced terrible suffering. And to all those who have fled violence and war in Ukraine, I say very clearly: you are welcome in Germany.”
He said that their “safety is a top priority” for the German government and for him as the federal commissioner for fostering Jewish life.
“I am glad that the Federal Government, in consultation with the Jewish associations, organized a special procedure for Jewish immigration from Ukraine very quickly after the Russian invasion, thus facilitating the possibility of permanent residence,” Klein said, referring to the fact that the minister of the interior simplified immigration rules for Ukrainian Jews allowing them to apply for immigration from inside Germany. Under normal circumstances, the application would have had to be made from their country of origin at the German Embassy.