Gunter Deming is changing the sidewalks and doorways in cities throughout Europe. Citing the Talmud, he said, "a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten." Deming, a German artist, started the Stolpersteine Project for this reason. His organization installs bronze plaques for the victims of the Nazi attrocities in front of the building where they last resided. Stolperstein literally means "stumbling stone" in German. The intent is for people to stumble over the stones. When one looks down at the cause of the near tumble, one sees a square bronze plaque, with the words, Hier wohnt...."(Here lived) One stone, one name, one person, one life. These stones are being laid all over Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. More recently, the project has extended to Poland, Austria, the Ukraine, Hungary, Argentina, and Mallorca. The plaques are visual reminders of what transpired at a specific location.
This is another example of reparations--recall, remembrance, responsibility-- by a German organization to the victims, and their families, of the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis. Few Americans seem to know about the program, which is a mystery to me. The plaques are everywhere Americans travel, but one has to look down occasionally.
To quote Inge Rhein, an American citizen born in Germany and a friend of mine, "Recently I thought if there were one such stone for every person(Jews, Roma, homosexuals, people with disabilities, political adversaries, journalists) Germany's streets would be paved with gold."
Monday, April 8, 2019
How Could I Hate These Germans
No Volkswagens, no German spoken, and no mention of Germany pre and post World War II. I grew up understanding the German language; my grandmothers spoke German to each other, but I did not learn to speak German until I studied the language in high school. Though an A student in German, I spoke awkwardly and with a terrible American accent. It was a loss for sure.
I understood my parents' discomfort with Germany in the 1950's through the 1960's. My parents are Holocaust survivors. My paternal grandmother taught me some pride in German achievements. She frequently pointed out a statue of Goethe and Schiller in the Golden Gate Park and read contemporary German literature. Both of my grandmothers listened to opera by German composers. By the late 1970's my parents' frozen views towards Germany thawed. I visited Germany in 1973 by myself; my friends refused to join me. My mother and father followed a few years later and revisited several times, taking my sister and brother. My father enjoyed being wined and dined by former classmates in his birthplace of Konstanz am Bodensee (Constance). My mother ventured to Berlin, but she was wary of the place. I nurtured distrust and dislike for Germans through the decades.
Around the millenium, I read of changes, attempts by Germans to appologize and memorialize the Jews and others who were murdered. My sister-in-law met a woman, Jani Pietsch, who wrote a book about the Jews of Schoneiche, who'd lost their entire belongings--house and all--to the Nazis, immediately following Kristallnacht. My curiosity deepened. This woman--Christian, a bit older than me--researched and produced a book about Jews? This was positive. I began to read about Germany's liberal governmental policies. This was no longer a fascist state. Germany was more liberal than the United States!
Fellow American Jews disdain Germans and Germany. Comments such as, "I wouldn't set foot on German soil," are commonly uttered by Jews. They laugh nervously and put on fake accents. This is no longer funny. We cannot hate forever. As the 2000's progressed, our country seemed to become more narrow-minded--the far right, the Christian evangelists, and angry white men. Rampant shootings occurred by young white males. The culmination of hatred came in the form of a huge businessman with fake blonde hair and an orangy artificial tan winning the presidential election in 2016. He had a base?
What was happening? White supremacists were getting bolder in the United States. These frightening right wing terrorists commenced their violence in the mid to late 1990's. No one could say that groups akin to European skinheads were purely a problem "over there". They were here, way back in the 1970's in Skokie, Illinois and more recently in Charlottesville, Virginia. I remember my father talking about the John Birch Society.
My roots are in Germany, at least as far back as the 18th century. My ancestors most probably felt equally German and Jewish. So, how can I merely ignore German culture and history, rich in literature, music, and science to name a few fields? And Germany in the early 20th century, was a fertile ground for new growth in architecure, art, literature, and lifestyle. Germans were militaristic for sure, but what country or background is 100% good? And, of course, there were the Nazis. Everyone is familiar with the conditions that led up to Hitler gaining power. I make no appologies for Germany. But, we see firsthand how hatred raises its ugly head within a climate of unrest, change, and divisiveness. Look at Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Christ Church.
Back to Germany 2019. So there is Klaus, Jani, Andreas, and Inge. All Germans in their 40's, 60's, and 70's. They are artistic, literary, intelligent and committed to bridging the gap between Jews and "Gentile" Germans. One of these people has discovered he is Jewish. These are just four humans I have met, three of them in the process of visiting Germany in 2014 with my mother. My relationship with them deepened when I wrote a memoir. Inge is a former colleague and a friend who lives near me in the United States.
Jani Pietsch, the woman who wrote the book about the Jewish people forced out of their homes following Kristallnacht, has organized an annual event, Denk Mal Am Ort (Think of the place). With her daughter, Marie, also an artist, they encouraged Berliners to inquire if their abodes had been previously inhabited by Jewish occupants. German, Jewish citizens who were compelled to escape Germany or were deported to the concentration camps. Some of the present householders accepted the challenge and have opened their homes, on one weekend in May, so Berliners can see firsthand where and how Jewish people lived. Persecution becomes real and more likely to decrease when one identifies with the "hated" other and observes common humanity.
My sister and I will be traveling to Berlin on May 1st to participate in Denk Mal Am Ort. The flat my mother lived in as a child will be opened, by Andreas and his wife. Klaus, an upstairs neighbor, will be present too. I will read from the book I wrote about my mother. Jani and Marie will be coordinating the event all over Berlin.
How can I hate all Germans? Americans do not open up their homes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, or Florida, so we see where Native Americans lived and were displaced, murdered, and robbed. How many years passed before an African American Museum appeared in Washington D.C.? Who said "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"? It was Chaucer in the 14th century. Hatred of the other is ancient. Germans did not invent genocide, but evil Germans were responsible and ruthless as mass killing evolved into the unthinkable. Americans, Jews and non-Jews, are required to look within at our loathing, resentment, and hostility.
I understood my parents' discomfort with Germany in the 1950's through the 1960's. My parents are Holocaust survivors. My paternal grandmother taught me some pride in German achievements. She frequently pointed out a statue of Goethe and Schiller in the Golden Gate Park and read contemporary German literature. Both of my grandmothers listened to opera by German composers. By the late 1970's my parents' frozen views towards Germany thawed. I visited Germany in 1973 by myself; my friends refused to join me. My mother and father followed a few years later and revisited several times, taking my sister and brother. My father enjoyed being wined and dined by former classmates in his birthplace of Konstanz am Bodensee (Constance). My mother ventured to Berlin, but she was wary of the place. I nurtured distrust and dislike for Germans through the decades.
Around the millenium, I read of changes, attempts by Germans to appologize and memorialize the Jews and others who were murdered. My sister-in-law met a woman, Jani Pietsch, who wrote a book about the Jews of Schoneiche, who'd lost their entire belongings--house and all--to the Nazis, immediately following Kristallnacht. My curiosity deepened. This woman--Christian, a bit older than me--researched and produced a book about Jews? This was positive. I began to read about Germany's liberal governmental policies. This was no longer a fascist state. Germany was more liberal than the United States!
Fellow American Jews disdain Germans and Germany. Comments such as, "I wouldn't set foot on German soil," are commonly uttered by Jews. They laugh nervously and put on fake accents. This is no longer funny. We cannot hate forever. As the 2000's progressed, our country seemed to become more narrow-minded--the far right, the Christian evangelists, and angry white men. Rampant shootings occurred by young white males. The culmination of hatred came in the form of a huge businessman with fake blonde hair and an orangy artificial tan winning the presidential election in 2016. He had a base?
What was happening? White supremacists were getting bolder in the United States. These frightening right wing terrorists commenced their violence in the mid to late 1990's. No one could say that groups akin to European skinheads were purely a problem "over there". They were here, way back in the 1970's in Skokie, Illinois and more recently in Charlottesville, Virginia. I remember my father talking about the John Birch Society.
My roots are in Germany, at least as far back as the 18th century. My ancestors most probably felt equally German and Jewish. So, how can I merely ignore German culture and history, rich in literature, music, and science to name a few fields? And Germany in the early 20th century, was a fertile ground for new growth in architecure, art, literature, and lifestyle. Germans were militaristic for sure, but what country or background is 100% good? And, of course, there were the Nazis. Everyone is familiar with the conditions that led up to Hitler gaining power. I make no appologies for Germany. But, we see firsthand how hatred raises its ugly head within a climate of unrest, change, and divisiveness. Look at Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Christ Church.
Back to Germany 2019. So there is Klaus, Jani, Andreas, and Inge. All Germans in their 40's, 60's, and 70's. They are artistic, literary, intelligent and committed to bridging the gap between Jews and "Gentile" Germans. One of these people has discovered he is Jewish. These are just four humans I have met, three of them in the process of visiting Germany in 2014 with my mother. My relationship with them deepened when I wrote a memoir. Inge is a former colleague and a friend who lives near me in the United States.
Jani Pietsch, the woman who wrote the book about the Jewish people forced out of their homes following Kristallnacht, has organized an annual event, Denk Mal Am Ort (Think of the place). With her daughter, Marie, also an artist, they encouraged Berliners to inquire if their abodes had been previously inhabited by Jewish occupants. German, Jewish citizens who were compelled to escape Germany or were deported to the concentration camps. Some of the present householders accepted the challenge and have opened their homes, on one weekend in May, so Berliners can see firsthand where and how Jewish people lived. Persecution becomes real and more likely to decrease when one identifies with the "hated" other and observes common humanity.
My sister and I will be traveling to Berlin on May 1st to participate in Denk Mal Am Ort. The flat my mother lived in as a child will be opened, by Andreas and his wife. Klaus, an upstairs neighbor, will be present too. I will read from the book I wrote about my mother. Jani and Marie will be coordinating the event all over Berlin.
How can I hate all Germans? Americans do not open up their homes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, or Florida, so we see where Native Americans lived and were displaced, murdered, and robbed. How many years passed before an African American Museum appeared in Washington D.C.? Who said "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"? It was Chaucer in the 14th century. Hatred of the other is ancient. Germans did not invent genocide, but evil Germans were responsible and ruthless as mass killing evolved into the unthinkable. Americans, Jews and non-Jews, are required to look within at our loathing, resentment, and hostility.
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