For 53 years, the former East German town of Tangerhütte, located in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, has operated a daycare center called “Ann Frank.”
However, for the past several months, immigrant families have been complaining about the name.
According to the German media outlet BILD, Tangerhütte Mayor Andreas Brohm has already promised the immigrant families that the name will be changed to “Weltentdecker.” This means world traveler. He believes that the name World Traveler better resonates with people who traveled long distances to enter Germany illegally.
However, the name change is being held up. Sachsen-Anhalt’s Minister of Economy, Sven Schulze, is refusing to approve of the name change. The daycare gets funding from the state and needs approval for the name change from the state government.
Max Privorozki, the chairman of the National Association of Jewish Communities in Sachsen-Anhalt, says that the name change is evidence that integration has failed.
In reference to the claim that immigrant families felt the use of the name Anne Frank was inappropriate, Privorozki state, “Dieses Argument bedeutet, dass die Integration dieser Eltern in deutsche Gesellschaft misslingt.” (This argument means that the integration of these parents into German society is failing.)
In 2019, Max Privorozki was grandstanding that he was so afraid of “rising anti-Semitism” by ethnic Germans that he was considering moving to Israel. He has spent years complaining about what he calls “far-right” Germans.
