Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the Hanukkah celebrations at the Heinz Galinski School in Berlin on Monday. He was received, among others, by the students and the chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster.

The Chancellor lit the first candle of the Hanukkah candlestick. In his speech, he emphasized how important Jewish life is for social development in the country.

“And there is another reason why the Festival of Lights is so wonderful here at your school. It shows that we are again celebrating a flourishing Jewish life in Germany today. This is a great miracle and a gift considering the unimaginable suffering Germans had brought upon the Jewish people. The Jewish community in Germany is now the third largest in Europe. In addition, this year many Jewish families came to us who had to fly from the terrible war in Ukraine and seek protection with us. The Jewish community gave them a lot of support, especially here in Berlin.”

After the Hanukkah celebration, Scholz answered the questions of some students in a small setting and visited the school’s welcome class for refugee children from Ukraine.

The eight-day Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, lasts until December 26 this year. Each day, as darkness falls, a new light is lit. With the Festival of Lights, Jews celebrate the victory of the Maccabees over Greek-Syrian foreign rule in 164 BC and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple.