Beate Kunzel Klarsfeld

German-French political activist

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June 30, 2026

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Beate Klarsfeld, a German Protestant, and her husband Serge Klarsfeld, a French Jew, are internationally recognized for their anti-Nazi and pro-Israel activism. Beate Klarsfeld gained notoriety in 1968 when she slapped then-German Chancellor Kurt Kiesinger, a former Nazi propagandist, at a rally. This act was part of her and her husband's broader campaign to expose and bring to justice former Nazi officials, including figures like Klaus Barbie. The Klarsfelds' work, funded by the Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, involved publicizing the pasts of collaborators and advocating for the prosecution of war criminals. They also spent time in Israeli kibbutzim and supported Israel.12

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Beate and Serge Klarsfeld
Beate Kunzel, born a German Protestant, quit her secretarial job in Berlin at age 21, moved to Paris to study French, and met Serge Klarsfeld, whom she married in 1963. Serge, a French Jew, had suffered under the Nazis—he, his mother, and his sister having…
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Beate Kunzel, born a German Protestant, quit her secretarial job in Berlin at age 21, moved to Paris to study French, and met Serge Klarsfeld, whom she married in 1963. Serge, a French Jew, had suffered under the Nazis—he, his mother, and his sister having…
Read More