Wiesenthal Center welcomes officials from Germany's Special Olympics delegation to the Museum of Tolerance

July 30, 2015

The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed officials from Germany's Special Olympics delegation to the Museum of Tolerance. The delegation was led by Ulla Schmidt (third from right),  Vice President of the Bundestag and a longtime advocate for special needs education and the rehabilitation of children with learning difficulties and behavioral issues.  Also in the delegation were Verana Bentele (fourth from left),  the Federal Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons and a twelve-time Paralympics Gold Medalist ;  Hans Jörg Neumann (far left), the German Consul General in Los Angeles; and Hubert Hüppe (far right), Member of the Bundestag and Ms. Bentele's predecessor.  "It is a measure of the values of the German people that citizens with disabilities are respected," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center who, along with Museum of Tolerance Director, welcomed the delegation. Under the Nazis, in a precursor to the Holocaust, almost a quarter million mentally and physically disabled Germans were gassed to death," Cooper added. In a sit down meeting prior to the Museum tour, Cooper, Schmidt and other officials exchanged views on the recent Iran Nuclear Deal, among other topics.