It is an honor for me to be here today with such a distinguished group for this very important occasion. First and most important, I want to recognize Walter Momper, President of the Berlin Parliament, under whose leadership this event is taking place, and Reinhard Führer, the former President, who initiated this co-sponsorship.

I would particularly like to thank several other people who have made major contributions to this evening's event. Stefanie Pruschansky of the Parliament's Protokoll office, who has organized this event and the reception which will follow; Betty Solbjor, our U.S. Coordinator, who has made all of the other arrangements; Michael Levitin, who has prepared all the profiles in the booklet, and Heike Kähler, who provided the German translation in the booklet and contacts with German media. A special thanks is due to my wife, Judith Obermayer who has been my advisor and supporter for the past 45 years.

The awardees are selected by a jury of seven prominent individuals who have a keen understanding and awareness of what non-Jewish Germans have done to preserve the Jewish memory. In addition to Mr. Momper and myself, we have in the audience both Sara Nachama and Ernst Cramer from Berlin. Karen Franklin from New York evaluated all of the documentary material that was submitted. Additionally, Ernest Kallmann from Paris and Werner Loval from Jerusalem made major contributions. They all spent countless hours evaluating the many excellent nominations we received. Every year, we are surprised to learn about so many additional individuals who have done exceptional work and who had never come to our attention before. There has been great diversity in awardees in geographical location, the nature of their contributions, their personal characteristics, their age, and what motivated them to devote so much of their time to these efforts.

Profiles of each of tonight's awardees are provided in the booklet that each of you received. Each of them has done remarkable things. You will see and hear from them shortly.
Because most awardees will not accept payment for their work, this event provides nominators with the opportunity to recognize outstanding contributions made by the winners. We have with us here today seven nominators and their families, who have come here from Israel, England, Scotland, and Canada specifically to honor the recipients. As I call their names, I would like them to stand up. Please hold your applause until the end.

• Shulamit Spain-Gayer and Philip Spain from Glasgow, Scotland
• Roger and Eliane Herz-Fischler from Ottawa, Canada
• Dan and Anita Frank of Afula, Israel
• Gideon and Hannah Frank of Moshav Beit-Chanan, Israel
• Dr. Felicitas Tesch of Berlin and Annamarie Müller-Steinbrecher of Hameln
• Veronica Forwood and Roger Browning of London, England
• Barbara Andrusz of Cumbria, England

In addition, we are honored to have nine special guests from the Atlantic Jewish Foundation in southern Florida, who have come to Germany to donate sacred Torah scrolls both to the Jewish community in Leipzig and to Germany's first yeshiva in Berlin.

This is the ninth year in which we have given these awards. In past years, I have been concerned about the direction my own country was headed. With the invasion of Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the torture of prisoners, I had feared that my own country might have started down a similar path to Nazi Germany.

However, this evening I can stand in front of you as a proud American. Just a week ago today, I was in Washington at the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama. It represented a milestone in American history; we elected an outstanding individual whom we believe can accomplish great things for the United States and the rest of the world. However, in order for him to achieve the election victory, tremendous prejudices had to be overcome. It was not just the color of his skin that made him appear different from us, he had many other problems -- his name: an Arab name that sounds like Osama in Osama bin Ladin; Hussein as in Saddam Hussein and the revered grandson of the prophet Mohammed; and Barack, the Arab world for blessing.

Furthermore, it would be easy for Americans to be prejudiced because of his family background. His black father abandoned the family when Obama was two. His father grew up in the wilds of Kenya, had four marriages and multiple children. Both his father and stepfather were Muslim, and he was the child of a mixed racial marriage, which at that time was still considered illegal in one-third of the American states.

Although we must marvel at what happened, unfortunately, prejudice will never disappear entirely, and each of us must continually examine whether prejudice clouds our judgment. Some prejudice is inherent when we don't know an individual and can only identify them by their group. That is guilt by association. Prejudice can also be a beginning of a slippery slope that leads to discrimination, fear, hatred, dehumanization, and eventually killing. Unfortunately, 70 years ago, Germany took this course.

At the Jews for Obama dinner the night before the inauguration, I spoke about the continuing prejudice by Americans, and especially American Jews toward Germans. An example I provided was that shortly before my visit to Berlin a few years ago, two important events occurred. About five neo-Nazis desecrated the Wiesensee Jewish cemetery in Berlin. Every major American newspaper carried the story on page one. A few weeks earlier, a rally for tolerance and against prejudice was held at the Centrum Judaicum, followed by a march from there to the Brandenburg Gate by more than 250,000 participants. This was not covered in the American news media. Unfortunately, they felt the actions of five individuals much more newsworthy than that of 250,000.

One of my goals in these awards tonight is to demonstrate to the rest of the world that today's Germany bears little resemblance to the Germany of 70 years ago, and you are examples of today's caring, responsible, dedicated Germans who want to preserve the history of the Jewish people in your country. Understanding the enormous positive contributions of Jews to Geramn society over the centuries helps people appreciate what Germany lost when it lost its Jewish population. Today the younger generation is exposed too frequently during their schooling and thereafter to the horrors of the Holocaust. They say, "I know. I have already heard enough about this. It is so depressing." These awards are intended to go beyond the Holocaust and to provide a broader perspective of the entirety of German Jewish history.

It is difficult for all of us to see beyond stereotypes and prejudices to understand others. We must learn to see ourselves as others see us. Intolerance harms not only the direct victims, but also those who are intolerant. But we are not immune -- for example, German prejudice toward Turks; Jews, and especially Israelis, prejudice toward Palestinians; and the universal prejudice against homosexuals. There may be valid reasons for having negative views toward some members of these groups, but they are not monolithic. Most people throughout the world have the same primary goal: to provide a better life for themselves and their families. It is just as true of Turks and Palestinians and homosexuals.

The United States demonstrated in our recent election that it can overcome prejudice. The German government and its people have focused on overcoming prejudice for many decades and have made great progress. The awardees here this evening are prime examples, as are the 45 previous awardees. Beyond the small group we have been able to honor, thousands of Germans have been dedicated to such Jewish remembrances; a myriad of Jewish memorials have been placed in Berlin and the rest of Germany; and millions of Germans are sensitive to the manifestations of prejudice and intolerance, as well as the slippery slope that can lead to much worse things. So much has been accomplished in Germany, but only if we continue to be sensitive to prejudice in ourselves, our friends, and our countries can we help make this a better world.

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