By Mark D. Zimmerman
Henry Kissinger died last week at the age of 100. Born in 1923 in Germany, Kissinger and his family fled the country in 1938 to escape increasing antisemitism, including beatings he suffered by Hitler Youth gang members. He went to college in New York, studying accounting, until he was drafted into the United States Army, where he served in the intelligence division during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he received advanced degrees and was a faculty member in the Department of Government at Harvard University. He entered the political realm, working as a foreign policy advisor to Nelson Rockefeller, later becoming National Security Advisor under President Richard Nixon. He then became Secretary of State under Nixon as well as President Gerald Ford. He negotiated the cease fire that led to the end of the Viet Nam War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. But he has also been viewed by many as a war criminal, responsible for the deaths of millions because of his policies in Southeast Asia, South America, the Middle East, and other areas of conflict. Kissinger was criticized for ignoring the plight of Soviet Jews, saying that “The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy, and if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern. Maybe a humanitarian concern.” He played a major role during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, facilitating negotiations that eventually led to an end to the war and a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt following the Camp David Accords. But Kissinger has been accused of delaying arms shipments to Israel during that war in order to force Israel into post-war diplomacy, a charge which Kissinger denied. Though raised Orthodox, Kissinger’s religious identity was complicated. He is reported to have said, “Is there a more self-serving group of people than the Jewish community?” What comment did Kissinger make in reference to his being born a German Jew?
A. “If it were not for the accident of my birth [at the beginning of the Nazi era in Germany], I probably would have been a rabbi instead of a refugee.”
B. “If it were not for the accident of my birth [as a non-US citizen], I could have been president of the United States.”
C. “If it were not for the accident of my birth [as a Jew], I might have been the German Secretary of State instead of the American Secretary.
D. “If it were not for the accident of my birth [as a Jew], I would be antisemitic.”
E. “If it were not for the accident of my birth [as a short bookish nerd] I could have been a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and dating Taylor Swift.
Link to answer: http://rrrjewishtrivia.com/answers-2023/henry-kissinger-zl-answer.html
Mark Zimmerman is the author of a series of Jewish trivia books, under the title RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun.