German Jewish community leader resigns amid claims he’s pretending to be Jewish
Der Spiegel says documents prove Wolfgang Seibert is a ‘scammer’ whose parents, grandparents were Protestant and even fought for Nazi regime
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BERLIN — A prominent Jewish community leader in northern Germany has resigned, stepping down from his post after reports that he has lied about his roots and is not Jewish.
The head of the Jewish Communities Association in Schleswig-Holstein state said Friday that the leader of its branch in the town of Pinneberg, Wolfgang Seibert, was resigning “with immediate effect, to avert further damage.”
In a recent report, the German weekly Der Spiegel cited documents that questioned Seibert’s Jewish heritage, including claims that his grandparents survived Auschwitz.
In a separate statement Friday, Seibert’s lawyer, Alexander Hoffmann, said his client “exaggerated” some of his public accounts, causing others to feel personally insulted, and he apologized for doing so.
Hoffmann added that Seibert remains “committed to the principles of Jewish faith” and will work to regain the community’s trust.
Seibert, 71, has since 2003 been heading the Jewish community of Pinneberg, a town near Hamburg in northern Germany, and publicly identifies as a Reform Jew.
But family documents show that neither he nor his parents and grandparents are Jewish, and that he hasn’t converted to Judaism, according to Der Spiegel, which called him a “scammer.”
Research revealed that Seibert was born to Christian Protestant parents in Frankfurt and baptized at the age of three days, according to the report.
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His paternal grandfather and father both fought for Nazi Germany’s armed forces in World War II, the report said, adding that they wouldn’t have been drafted to the Wehrmacht had they been considered Jews.
Seibert has claimed his grandmother Anna Katharina Schmidt was a survivor of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. But the report said her grandfather was Protestant.
Der Spiegel also wrote that Seibert has a criminal record for several cases of fraud and embezzlement.
Seibert rejected the allegations and said he would respond this week after consulting his lawyer, German media reported.
Seibert has been a proponent of liberal Judaism and interfaith dialogue. He made headlines in 2014 when his community granted a Muslim refugee asylum.
The Times of Israel Community.