Gütersloh, 10/23/2023

Never Again Is Now

Bertelsmann is participating in the German business community’s “Nie wieder ist jetzt” (Never again is now) initiative, in which about 100 German companies, including many well-known names such as Adidas, Audi, Bayer, BMW, Henkel, Lufthansa, Porsche, SAP, Siemens and Volkswagen, have issued a joint declaration against hatred and anti-Semitism in Germany.

Bertelsmann is participating in the German business community’s “Nie wieder ist jetzt” (Never again is now) initiative, in which about 100 German companies, including many well-known names such as Adidas, Audi, Bayer, BMW, Henkel, Lufthansa, Porsche, SAP, Siemens and Volkswagen, have issued a joint declaration against hatred and anti-Semitism in Germany. A large ad published in national German media over the weekend reads (in German): “Never again is now. All of us condemn Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel. And we witness with horror the suffering of civilians in Israel and Gaza. As German companies, we oppose all forms of hatred and anti-Semitism. We are aware of our historical responsibility. We therefore ask everyone to join us in standing in solidarity with our fellow Jewish citizens, in our companies and in our country. There must be no place for anti-Semitism in Germany. ‘Never again’ is the obligation of every individual. ‘Never again’ is now.”

Shortly after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, Bertelsmann had published this unequivocal statement: “Bertelsmann condemns the terrorist attacks on Israel in the strongest possible terms. We stand unwaveringly by the side of our Israeli friends and partners as well as the State of Israel. Over the decades, Bertelsmann and Israel have developed close and extremely stable ties of friendship. This friendship extends from the involvement of the Mohn family of shareholders and Bertelsmann Stiftung projects to Bertelsmann’s business and investments in Israel. Our unreserved solidarity goes out to the people of Israel.”