75 Years After Auschwitz: The State of Anti-Semitism Today in Europe
About The Event
January 27th marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Despite the decades of progress since the Holocaust, anti-Semitism remains a challenge in Europe and beyond. Recent years have seen a rise in the violent attacks against Jews and increasingly extremist or nationalist parties making political gains across many parts of Europe. Last year, polling in Europe found over one-third of Jews feared being physically attacked and almost one-third have considered emigrating, since they do not feel safe in their own country.
Consul General of France Alexis Andres and Consul General of Germany Thomas H. Meister will discuss the many steps taken since WWII to promote and protect the rights of Jews and other minority groups within Europe. They will also address the recent increase in anti-Semitism in Europe and what actions are and will be taken by governments to protect Jews and other vulnerable populations.
About The Speaker
Consul General of France Alexis Andres has been Consul General of France in Houston since September 1, 2017. He holds a master’s degree in history and is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies in Strasbourg. He also studied at the University of Missouri in St Louis. Andres joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after his tenure at the National School of Administration in 2001. Andres was stationed at the French Embassy in Hanoi, Berlin and most recently in Algiers, as a counselor for cooperation and cultural action. He was also sub-prefect of the district of Lunéville.
Born in 1972 in Epinal in the Vosges, he is married and the father of 6 children.
Consul General of Germany Thomas H. Meister assumed his post as Consul General of Germany in Houston in summer 2017. As Consul General, Meister leads Germany’s engagement across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. His priorities and responsibilities include developing and strengthening political ties between Germany and the consular district, enhancing trade and investment partnerships, cooperation in the field of culture, promoting science and innovation links and rendering consular assistance to the large number of German nationals who call this region their home.
As a career diplomat, Mr. Meister joined the German Federal Foreign Office in 1981. He served at German embassies in Australia, Uganda, Spain as well as Cultural Counsellor in New York and as Consul General in Recife (Brazil).
His most recent assignments have included serving as the Foreign Office Director of the Department for International Energy Policy from 2006 to 2009; Ambassador to New Zealand (also accredited to the Cook Islands, the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of Kiribati, the Independent State of Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga and Tuvalu) from 2009 to 2012; Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland from 2012 to 2015; and Foreign Office Director of the Department for Climate and Environmental Foreign Policy, Sustainable Economy from 2015 to 2017.
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