Lone Wolf for a Good Cause?

 I encountered a small statue in a garden on a walking tour of Konstanz, Germany. Our guide explained the significance; this was a bust of Johann Georg Elser (1903-1945). As she recounted the story, it seemed familiar. Then I remembered--I read about the incident in Agent Sonya by Ben McIntyre.

Georg was a German carpenter and craftsman who valued freedom and rights for the workers in the Third Reich. He sympathized with the needy since he grew up in a family that struggled economically. He worked in Konstanz, Germany, reportedly some of the happiest years of his short life. 

He managed to resist the Nazi party with small acts, such as refusing to listen to radio broadcasts of Hitler's speeches and to salute with arm extended. As a biographer of Hitler, Ian Kershaw said, "he was a single person, an ordinary German, a man from the working class, acting without the help and or knowledge of anyone else." 

Georg Elser's actions remind one of the question of the morality of exposing innocent victims to danger in the cause for good. Are accidental deaths as a result of an assassination of an evil leader justified? Mr. Elser engaged in other forms of protest which obviously were insufficient to counter the rise of Hitler. 

Disgusted by the Nazis, he meticuously planned and nearly executed a bombing on November 8, 1939 that would have killed or seriously injured Hitler and other highly placed Nazi officers. Hitler gave a speech at a beer hall in Munich every November 8 to commemorate his attempted putsch on that date in 1923. Unfortunately, Hitler left the beer hall (one of his favorite) before the bomb detonated, ostensibly to catch a train. Several people were killed, none were the brass of the Nazi regime.

Georg was long gone when the bomb exploded. He was arrested, in Konstanz, for smuggling, while  attempting to cross into Switzerland. When his knapsack was searched, police found tools and a postcard of the beer hall, incriminating evidence. Georg was sent to Munich and then Berlin where he was tortured by high ranking officials. Then shipped off to Sachsenhausen, where he spent years, until he was executed at Dachau in 1945. The Germans kept him alive as a symbol of British intelligence involvement rather than German resistance. Hitler was certain that Esler alone could not have carried out a plot to assassinate him.

Evidently, the Germans remained convinced. Finally, in the 1960's interrogation transcripts were found. Not until the 1980's was Georg Elser memorialized as a hero. Georg himself wrote of his misgivings about the killing of innocent victims for the purposes of freedom and destroying evil. He said, "I wanted to prevent the war!" 

https://www.fritz-bauer-forum.de/en/datenbank/johann-georg-elser-3/

https://www.gdw-berlin.de/en/recess/topics/7-georg-elser-and-the-assassination-attempt-of-november-8-1939/

https://www.dw.com/en/hitlers-would-be-assassin-a-lone-wolf-who-acted-on-his-ideals/a-51156209

Note: Any mistakes are my responsibility. It is difficult to ferret out fact from fiction in the numerous accounts of this story.

©Karen Levi 2023

Two Emmas

Emma Lazarus Budge

 When I heard the name Emma Lazarus at a Holocaust remembrance program in Frankfurt, Germany, I immediately thought of the Jewish/American poet whose sonnet is installed on the Statue of Liberty. But I was incorrect. There was another one and probably thousands more. The Emma Lazarus I heard mentioned in Germany married Henry Budge in the latter part of the 19th century, both Jews. 

Henry was born in Frankfurt in 1840. He emigrated to the United States in 1866 and became a successful businessman. He must have returned to Germany to marry Emma. Both moved to the United States and became citizens in 1882. For some reason, they relocated to Hamburg, Germany in 1903, where they were great patrons of the arts and charitable foundations. During World War I, they lived in 

Switzerland to avoid conflicts of loyalty. 

One of the foundations established with their money was named after them--the Frankfurt Henry and Emma Budge Foundation. The purpose of the foundation was the "care of men, women, and children in need of recreation, without distinction of sex, age, and religious confession," a forward thinking mission for the times. The Budges agreed to use capital from their foundation to alleviate a housing shortage in 1928, in Frankfurt, specifically for a "retirement home for the middle class." The residence was built in 10 months and ready for the first inhabitants in 1930. Ernst May, of the Frankfurt building department, selected the Bauhaus style of architecture for the structure. Three avant-garde architects assisted him, most notably Mart Stam.

                                            Example Bauhaus architecture     

The result was a masterpiece of an open light-flooded building with 100 apartments. Each had a private balcony or patio with a view of wooded areas. The common rooms had movable walls for flexibility. Meals were taken in a dining room and prepared in a modern kitchen with a dishwasher and other avant-garde appliances. The founders and architects envisioned a "collectively managed pensioner's hotel" for older middle class individuals of Jewish and Christian religion. Innovative, the interfaith aspect and the free atmosphere of men and women interacting socially proved to be without historical role models. 

Utimately tragedy occurred when the Nazis took over the foundation and home. The Jewish residents were forced out and moved to various sites in Frankfurt. It is unclear how many Jewish residents lived at the Budge Home, but 23 were murdered by the Nazis. The victims have been memoralized at various sites in Frankfurt. 

One of those residents was my great grandmother Elise Hofmann. She was deported at age 70 in 1942 to Theresienstadt and murdered at Treblinka, an ungodly end for a respectable, modern woman. 

Back to our American Emma Lazarus--a Sephardic Jew--who wrote the sonnet "The American Collossus," which was inspired by the Statue of Liberty. At the time, she worked with Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Their plight and the new statue inspired Emma to write her famous lines.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand           
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

                                                         Emma Lazarus

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The poem, written with no notion of Nazis but yet a knowledge of antisemitism, rang true in the 1880's, 1940's, and now. 

Photo of Emma Lazarus from https://jwa.org/womenofvalor/lazarus

Photo of Emma Budge https://www.dasjuedischehamburg.de/bilder/budge-emma

Content from research done by Gudrun Jäger 2023

©Karen Levi 2023

Where Are the Descendents?

 

Nike Shoes

 The front page of today's Washington Post has a picture of a little girl carrying a Nike shoe box out of the rubble of the mobile home that had been her home. Terrible tornadoes ripped through rural southwestern Mississippi, affecting mostly black residents who live below the poverty line. What struck me was the shoe box. 

How often do we buy shoes and open the box at home? The Nike logo is ubiquitous in our lives. But the juxtaposition of a little girl carrying the box as she climbed out of rubble, as bizarre as it seems, was not shocking. We view these images daily. Scientists do not know the relationship between severe tornadoes and climate change. All I know from my lay standpoint is that wind has increased in intensity in recent years. Regardless of any correlation between climate change and tornadoes, we will experience more weather related tragedies and strange occurrences, for example the rain that never stops in California. 

People tend to be oblivious to what goes on around them--be it weather, safety/general awareness, political upheaval. Granted we suffer from bad news fatigue, worn down with earthquakes, fires, floods, dictators, and wars. I am guilty. But, I do not tune out completely. I focus on my immediate environment and the world as best I can. No one is perfect or Mother Theresa (except for her).

 I often ignore homeless people or those begging on traffic islands. I get tired of emails, requests for donations, and legislative reports from local politicians. I am blessed or cursed. I wake up easily and often-- in a metaphoric sense--noticing something that does not seem right--a noice, smell, or person. For example, what is happening in a section of Bethesda, Maryland.

Today, I tried to visit a neighborhood with beautiful cherry blossoms, our beloved delicately flowering trees that show their impermanent beauty for a week at the most. No go--the residents have banned cars which is fine. But massive construction of an unnecessary new shopping area has caused adjacent streets to be blocked off. Thereby making a pleasant Sunday afternoon spring tradition no longer possible. So an affluent neighborhood has decided to be exclusive and unwelcoming. But worse, the rebuilding of a small strip mall in a typical inside-the-beltway community of our county is turning into I-Don't-Know-What. 

Sacred land for our African American neighbors is being built over and desecrated. It was bad enough when a parking lot was placed over the burial grounds of former slaves, but now there will be more and bigger shops, offices, and apartments. 

There is one tiny parcel of land being contested. So far, the county has not seen fit to save that small section for a memorial site. Across the street from the construction site is an adequate, modern shopping area--once a thriving black residential subdivision. Therefore, there is no need to expand the other area.  

Greed is next to impossible to fight even in liberal Montgomery County, Maryland. So I continue to write letters and sign petitions. Stay vigilant. And hope the little girl and her family in Mississippi get a better house. 

©Karen Levi 2023

LIGHT, JOY, WOMEN--IT MUST BE MARCH OR ADAR

 Previously, I gave little thought to Purim. I remember carnivals in the synagogue social hall as a child--groggers, hats, games, prizes. Purim served as a bright spot after the dark months of Tevet and Shevat. Sweet treats and fun foretold of more joy to come. After early childhood, I ignored Purim, except for the Hamentaschen.

When I joined a congregation in the "oughts," I was introduced to the Purim Spiel. First, I thought, that's dumb, and the Yiddish word deterred, being the daughter of a former Berliner who shunned the colorful, useful language (that I have come to appreciate). 

People said, "come, come, it's so fun." I thought, "What, I have no talent?" I had joined the choir because of a lifelong wish to be immersed in song. I was "good enough," could read music, and knew when to sing quietly. An extroverted member of the choir--who was the Spiel director--encouraged me as well. She remarked that "no talent" was exactly the ticket to join the play's cast.

So to rehearsal I went. And thus began about ten seasons of great fun. The small, liberal congregation had been producing plays for about 5-10 years before I joined in the hilarity. Our director--the demonstrative, very talented choir member--had the ability to take a ragtag bunch of "older" Jews and turn us into a somewhat polished group. I remember her saying, "I hate blocking night. I'm herding cats." We were silly and made jokes about nearly everything we could find as fodder. My favorite spiel was "Schmaltz" (Grease) in which I had a solid role.

The productions were sealed into the annals of congregation history. Our rabbi was an actor in his own right. He could act in any comic role, and he sang in a strong, tenor voice. Naturally, our plays were the story of Esther, Mordechai, and Haman set to rock, popular, or Broadway tunes.

 The era of the plays are over, as all good things must come to an end. There was a chemistry and bonding in the cast that cannot be reproduced. So I am back to a less exciting but still happy Purim, the beginning of more light, warmth, and hope. 

Below is a short essay I wrote about Adar and Purim for those who are interested:
     

    Adar is the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar which can be quite confusing since we         find ourselves neither in December nor at the Jewish New Year. When there is a leap             year, there are two Adars. Adar relates to the Hebrew word, Adir, which means strength.     The month is associated with good fortune and joy. Adar corresponds to the zodiac sign of     Pisces, two unidentified fish in the depths of the sea. Like Esther, who revealed herself as     a Jew after being masked or hidden.

    Purim falls on the 14th day of Adar, a holiday for joyful celebration and the only one            which focuse on brave women. We are familiar with the Megillah and the story of Esther     and Mordechai saving the Jews from certain death. The Megillah, or the Book of Esther,        is one of two ancient books named for women. 

    Spiritually and physically, the month represents the shift from darkness to light. We see        the transformation in the increase of daylight hours and in a new month filled with               joy after several months of darkness. The Purim story deals with a shift from death to            life. 

    After Haman and his henchmen were defeated, Esther went to the king and said, “Do            tomorrow what you have done today.” The king was confused--Haman, his ten sons, and     various other evildoers had been hanged. Why does Esther ask for what has been done?        Scholars have found the Hebrew letters, also representing the numbers 5707, within the        Book of Esther. And what is significant about 5707? The Jewish year corresponds to            1946, when 10 Nazis hanged after trials at Nuremberg. So, was Queen Esther asking            for retribution for crimes that had not been yet committed? Curious.
    

    Tradition has us decking out in a guise or mask for Purim. The Ba’al Shem Tov                    said, “It is a mitzvah to dress up for Purim.” Now why would a pious rabbi suggest a            frivolity like costumes? The ancient rabbis instituted the custom of giving                              Tzedakah to the poor on Purim. If everyone masquerades, one cannot discern who is             giving and who receiving. Therefore, in complete anonymity, one offers and accepts,            the truest form of mitzvah.

    

    Back to joy, which is forever in short supply. Toast with your libation of choice to Health     and Happiness as my parents and grandmothers would say. And drown out the evil of the     Hamans with your groggers.

©Karen Levi 2023

NO, WE CAN'T GET OVER IT

 Words do matter; human beings use the spoken word to communicate, accomplish, negotiate, plead, request, and comment. Words change personal, political, and commercial relationships. We speak to infants and animals eventhough we are certain that hey comprehend our tone not the meaning. Evil actors use phrases to instill fear which often leads to physical violence. We convey love through words.

Specific vocabulary changes the meaning of a story, critical when a history is communicated to the younger generations. So the youth keep the memories of the past alive when we are gone. The words that constitute memory may not be 100% accurate, but they are impervious to water, fire, and decay. Within the words are the feelings which we carry. What was an acceptable term fifty years ago can be construed as negative now. 

Each storyteller must choose words carefully. Words--Enslaved describes the millions of individuals who were considered subhuman by heinous masters, owners, politicians, professionals, businessmen, women, men, and children for at least 200 years in the Americas. Slave denotes the entire identity, but enslaved describes only one aspect of the talented, bright, feisty, brave, illiterate, evil, and wonderful people who were unfortunate to be captured or descended from the latter. Had sex with is rape when a man forces himself on a woman.

More words--Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. They did not die but were purposely killed because, like slaves, they were considered subhuman. Subhuman is lower than an animal. I told my daughter--like a nail, a chair, a scrap of paper. Unimaginable to consider that a living, breathing human could be negated to thing, erased, like we toss garbage. This phenomenon of treating a human as inhuman is different from killing enemies or intruders. Though, I imagine soldiers erase the humaness from the enemy in war, due to exhaustion, fear, danger, brainwashing, and hunger. Jews and African Americans are not the only victims of dehumanization. They are merely two examples. 

We use words to differentiate people into undesirable categories. Special Needs is a perfect example. Do not all people have needs? Often the needs are special or particular. Special being a euphemism for a person with mental illness, addiction, cognitive disability, and physical handicap. In this case, no one wants to be special.

People dismiss with words, "Get over it. Slavery is over. It happened years ago." Or, "Jews are rich. What do they have to complain about?" And the worst, "They (could be any victim) probably deserved_____." No, we cannot stop telling the stories. Narratives with carefully chosen words inform, especially those that describe discrimination, hatred, and ostracism. For as long as despots, dictators, and haters scare people into violence, we must retell the history to stop repetition. 

Select words wisely; meaning conveys truth or fiction. Enslaved vs. slave; murdered instead of die. A quick Google search reveals many more derogatory adjectives still used with frequency--i.e. Eskimo, gyp, hip hip hooray, uppity.

About a year ago, Whoopi Goldberg stated that the Holocaust was an example of "man's inhumanity to man." The surface meaning seemed fine. But she subtly expressed a differention from "racism," thereby diminishing a horrendous period in history. Words matter and "no, we won't get over it."

Names are more important than words. These are names of former enslaved persons.

Note: a month ago I wrote a blog about woke culture which also distorts words. Individuals must decide what words seem accurate to them, excluding commonly accepted slurs.

©Karen Levi 2023

GOOD NEWS IS BAD NEWS

 No one wants good news. Put another way, major media do not broadcast positive stories. I hold in my hand, three handouts from the J Street Conference in December 2022, representing Combatants for Peace, Taghyeer-- Palestinians Organizing Palestinians, and Project Rozana. We read that Palestinians killed so many Israelis, and the Israeli army bombed a section of Gaza City. Few people--Christian, Muslim, Jewish--seem to be aware of the myriad groups working for peace in Israel and Palestine.

Combatants for Peace, a joint Israeli and Palestinian effort, promotes an end to the cycle of violence. Collum McCann featured this organization in his 2017 novel, Apeirogon--two fathers, a Palestinian and an Israeli, become friends through the organization and work together to bring the opposing sides together. Taghyeer (Change) is a Palestinian organization which belongs to a National Nonviolence Movement of grassroots communities and emerging leaders, who exercise nonviolence as a unifying identity for the Palestinian people. Project Rozana, a multi-faith group, founded in 2013 in Australia,  with affiliate offices in Canada, the USA, and UK, aims to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians through healthcare. The organization supports the training of Palestinian physicians and health professionals at Israeli hospitals. Project Rozana raises funds for a volunteer driver program in the West Bank and Israel for Palestinian patients to reach their appointments in Israeli hosptials. The project funds access to healthcare in Israel for complex medical procedures that are not available or easily accessible in Palestinian hospitals. (These are three of numerous groups working for positive change in the region.)

I listened to a program on PBS about general advancements in solar heating and access to water for Navajo communities. More good news; scientists working towards appropriate environmental stewardhip.

Major media companies would rather devote air time to tragedies, deaths, and cruelty. Not a Polyanna, but it occurs to me that broadcasting primarily the negative increases despair among those who care and reliance on conspiracy theories in the population of the distrustful. Why can't Rachel Maddow or Don Lemon lead off with a positive development in the never-ending parade of horrors--climate change, racism, antisemitism, war in Ukraine, deaths from drug abuse, and mass shootings

My introduction to this phenomenon occurred around 1993. My husband and I had successfully adopted two babies from Latin America. Our children thrived and brought endless joy to us. But what was on the nighly news? A story about Americans bribing poor birthmothers to relinquish their infants for body parts. I can barely type these words, so horrendous is this apocryphal narrative. It sickens me, turns my stomach, makes my blood boil. We, and thousands of other families, had adopted children and formed families, characterized by love, committment and responsibility. 

I have been told that good news does not sell newpapers. Or put in 21st century terms, positive news does not get clicks. I suppose people get complacent until shocked into action by a tragedy. But, for those on the front lines of change, an accounting of productive advancement would be welcome. 

People that I know despair. Often, friends refuse to talk about recent events due to their anguish. Perhaps that is part of older age--the world has changed, things are not what they used to be, etc. However, I would like periodic acknowledgement of progress to be the lead line on MSNBC's All In, or The Last Word. For example, a week after a devastating mass shooting, a report on the number of guns relinquished and turned in at police stations. After the distribution of a video on brutal police violence perpetrated on an unarmed black man, a story of a police department helping a community. Americans support Ukraine in its fight for democracy, a former eastern bloc country. More hybrid and electric cars on the road than ever before. 

To those out there in cyberspace--you who control the news apps.

Could you insert positivity into the notifications on our phones? We make progress as often as we regress or act badly.

   ©Karen Levi 2023