In January 1988 he was virtually the automatic choice to succeed  Werner Nachmann as chairman of the Central Council of German Jewry. Showing he was aware of the continuing suspicion with which the community was regarded, he promised from the outset "to make Jewry transparent." Three months later he had to make good that promise when it was revealed that his predecessor had embezzled more than £10 million by siphoning off interest from the government compensation fund for Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Galinski went to Helmut Kohl, the chancellor, to explain what had happened and then set about reorganising the central council, forcing the resignation of its general secretary as part of the process of reestablishing its integrity. In the same year he arranged a meeting with Erich Honecker, the East German leader, to press the case for opening archives dealing with the Nazi period to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

When unification occurred, Galinski welcomed it but prophesied, accurately, that this could lead to a resurgence of right wing extremism and xenophobia. He accused West Germany of failing to face up fully to its Nazi past and warned that unless this happened there was always going to be a problem in coping with the history of the communist period in the East.

Despite his efforts, the Berlin Jewish community today is still only 9,000 strong although during the Gulf war a number of Israelis actually  sought refuge there and many former soviet Jews now want to settle there. His success in achieving reconciliation was best shown in 1990 when, for the first time in 60 years. the World Jewish Congress met in the city. Last year Israel established a consul general there.

Although he was proud of being Jewish, Galinski was no less proud of being German and in appearance and  manners he could easily have been mistaken for a prosperous German businessman. His lifelong struggle to bring about reconciliation between his race and his nation stemmed from his profound belief that the two cultures were complementary and that German Jews were among the world's most gifted people.

Although a devout Jew, he was a Conservative one. He was autocratic and beat off challenges to his authority from  both  Orthodox  and Liberal activists. No respecter of persons, he knowingly but unconcernedly made enemies after unification by demanding the return of prime site, confiscated Jewish property in East Berlin. He was made an honorary citizen of Berlin in recognition of all he had done to rehabilitate the city.

His death marks the end of an era, for it is almost certain that his successor will come from a new generation of German Jews, born since the war and with no personal memory of the Holocaust.

Married for a second time in 1947, he is survived by his wife Ruth, who chairs the Federation of Jewish Women in Germany, and their daughter. Although he was keen on music and football, his  main hobby was growing cactuses.