Visit to the Memorial Site of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp

Today we visited the memorial at the site of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Going to a concentration camp site always sets a person up with an uneasy feeling. Obviously death and destruction occurred at this camp, so it is unclear how you are supposed to react. Should you get emotional? Should you not? What prayers should you say?

We were fortunate that we had an excellent guide. When we began our tour, it started with a documentary about what happened at Buchenwald with survivor testimony. Buchenwald is in the city of Weimar. Buchenwald was a labor camp and not officially designated as a "death" camp, although many people died there. In addition to Jews, there were also political prisoners who were not Jewish. The documentary set a very sad and striking tone for our tour of the grounds of the memorial site. Our guide presented the information with a very strong moral message. He explained that he often guides young German students and tells them that there were many different types of prisoners. Even though many German students think only Jews and foreigners were prisoners, there were others. They may also think it is not personal because it does not directly affect them. The guide often tells these students that it does not affect them because ideas change and people with racist ideas may begin to hate you if you don't stand up. You cannot be passive because hate affects everyone.

When you first arrive at the site, there is a large parking lot full of cars and 4 yellow buildings. They all used to be the housing for the families of the SS men. Interestingly, people still live in the first two. The people who live inside are NOT SS men (or their descendents); but rather random Germans. These people had nowhere to live after WWII destroyed many buildings in the area. Instead of living under bridges or outside, people inhabited these apartments. Strange.

The first two houses on the left are still apartment buildings. The SS men lived in all four.

The wives and children of these SS men lived with their men while they were working at the camp. The wives had to prove going back 150 years that they had no Jewish lineage.

As we walked further into the camp site, there was a large concrete area that was a zoo. It was meant to be for the families of the SS men and for the SS men to have a bit of a "retreat" away from their work. The zoo was located right next to the camp. You could see the camp from next to the zoo and you could see the zoo from inside the camp. They seemed to have no consciousness or more likely, no dignity for humanity to do such a thing. I can't believe that they would expose their children to this, as if it is not real. The SS men seemed to convince themselves that their work at the concentration camp was part of everyday life.

zoo

The camp is on the left and the zoo is on the right. Rivky is standing exactly in between them.

There was a crematorium inside the camp, operated by prisoners. But, there was also one in Weimar. Normal (non-prisoner) people operated this crematorium. These people had to have seen the starved, strangled, sick dead people who came to them and had to have had some inclination about what was going on. They did and said nothing.

Weimar and Erfurt

I'm sitting on a park bench in Erfurt overlooking a river or stream, not entirely sure what it is. We left the hotel in Berlin yesterday and are staying in Weimar, which is apparently three hours south of Berlin. It was a really beautiful drive south. The highway that we were on is lined throughout with farms, including many windmill farms if that's even what they're called. They are really beautiful to watch and makes you feel good because it's actually a sustainable energy source, something I wish our country would do a lot more of. The sun was also setting, which made for a very picturesque view. We got to the hotel and were disappointed to see it was not quite the same as our beautiful 5-Star Swissotel in Berlin. This was a reluctant 3-Stars. Not terrible. It reinforced the notion that Germany does not believe in air conditioning.

The next day, today, we had a walking tour of Weimar. It is best known for being where the German writer and philosopher, Goethe, lived. It was also home to Johann Sebastian Bach, Martin Luther and many others. It's a really adorable town. Unfortunately our tour guide did a really poor job of giving background information on many of the people were talking about. After the tour, the group broke and Jen, Rivky, Deborah, Staci, Sara and I wandered a bit. We found a cute French crepe place and had some lunch. Later we wandered and had the most delicious gelato. Mine was called "Nougat Minze." It was some sort of chocolate nougat with mint and cardamom. Sooooo delicious.

Here in Erfurt it also seems lke an adorable town, but they gave us free time to wander around without much explanation of the town. I am enjoying the relaxation of the river though.

Obama Mania in Berlin

Barack Obama spoke here yesterday and it was a really strange experience. Earlier in the day we went to The Jewish Museum, which was quite beautiful. They do an incredible job of painting the beauty and depth of Jewish history, including highlighting prominent people and their place in society.

The museum was designed in the shape of a lightning bolt and had a really cool modern art theme throughout. Museums and exhibits like this make me really proud to be Jewish. It also makes me happy to know that it celebrates the vastness of Jewish life throughout, not only talking about the Holocaust. Definitely a great experience visiting there.

After that, we prepared for Obama's speech. We took the train and wandered a bit to where the government buildings are. There were a lot of people hanging out on the lawn in front of the Reichstag. It was a cool scene. As we walked closer and closer to the street that is between the Brandenburg gate and the Liberty Tower, we were able to see an incredible amount of people. It was a really jovial atmosphere and it made me laugh that they were selling beer all over the place along with sausage. It reminded me of a cross between a state fair and a concert. People were selling Obama '08 gear, which seemed ordinary. There were also people in the crowd registering American citizens living abroad to vote, which also seemed ordinary. We walked closer to the Liberty Tower and it got increasingly more crowded. I have never been to a comparable political rally/speech in the United States, so I have some trouble comparing. I have heard countless politicans speak at closed breakfast, briefings and events. I attended the large pro-Israel rally in Washington, DC in 2002. The mood there was happy, yet somber, given the topic and the constant violence.

I found it weird how playful the crowd was, drinking beer and hot dogs. There was a man standing behind me in the crowd, who at one point, said, "Oh, Barack, you are a great man!"

I feel very privileged to have been at this speech and in Berlin at this time, though. Obama made some beautiful references to breaking down the barriers that separate people. It was a nice almost mid-point for my program, where we had been learning about the Berlin Wall and all that it represented. I just honestly wonder if Europeans understand the complexities of American politics and realize that Obama's ideals will be more difficult to actualize, if he is even elected. I want to believe him, too, but I'm not sure Europeans see the real picture.

Standing Behind many people, 200,000 people and I listened to Senator Obama speak somewhere in front of the tower on the left hand side of the picture

BlackBerry Blog

-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:36 PM
To: Joel; Ariella
Subject: Hi from in front of the Victory Column

I'm standing somewhere in between the Victory Column and Brandenburg gate waiting for Obama to speak. Yesterday we went to the Foreign Ministry and met with the Deputy Director of Culture and Media Relations. I asked him several questions about Germany's trade with Iran, and about what Iran says when Germany questions them about Holocause denial. He prefaced it by saying he is not an expert on the issue and is not giving the official German position. He said they have to trade with Iran, because of oil, and stressed that Chancellor Merkel stands strongly with Israel against the Iranian threat. He said the same thing as the member of the German government who works in transatlantic relations said about Holocaust denial - that Iran sees Israel as a part of history that they disagree with Germany about. I still can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone when I ask specifically if in light of all that Germany has done following the Holocaust how they can allow Iran to deny it. This is a serious contradiction to me. Later in the day we visited the AJC office and I asked the Director about it and she said despite the stats, trade with Iran is going down.

I just got asked by a few people in the group if I was writing a short novel, so I should go. Hope all is well in NY.



Elizabeth M. Foreman

-----Original Message-----
From: Ariella
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 1:14 PM
To: Elizabeth; Joel
Subject: RE: Hi from in front of the Victory Column

Thanks for the report, Liz. Sounds similar to my experience with the diplomats, even though you met somebody else. Here's a related article published in today's New Republic:

Short-Term Relationship
by Josef Joffe
Right now, Europeans are greeting Barack Obama as their savior. But how long will the love last if he wins the presidency?
Post Date Thursday, July 24, 2008

This author, a so-called expert on Europe and trans-Atlantic relations, has had more hits from big-time U.S. media in the last five days than in the last five years: Newsweek, CNN, NPR, Lehrer, Reuters, even Al-Jazeera English. They all wanted me to explain Germany's Obama fervor, of course, particularly as it related to his speech in the heart of Berlin, at the "Victory Column" that celebrates the military triumphs that launched Bismarck's Prussia-Germany on the road to Continental primacy.

The site selection is a nice touch for a man who is regarded throughout Germany as the Prince of Peace, as the polar opposite of the one-man axis of evil that George W. Bush is said to be. But what Barack Obama really is or isn't does not matter. Obamania is not about politics, but about desire, dreams, and projections. Obama is not so much a candidate as a canvas, a vast surface onto which Europeans (and half of the U.S. electorate) can paint their fondest fantasies. There hasn't been anything like it in Western politics since ... since ... Jack ("Ich bin ein Berliner") Kennedy, the president Barack Obama so self-consciously mimics, down to the tilt of his head and the inflection of his voice.

If he ran in Germany, Obama would carry the country by a landslide, with 67 percent of the vote. But there is no gold in them thar numbers, only disappointment. By vast margins, Germans and Europeans believe in Obama as the Savior & Redeemer who will deliver them from the last eight years of George W. It's like an exorcist fantasy: Once we can send Bush off into the desert, like the scapegoat of the Israelites, we will be able to love America again.

There are two problems buried in this fantasy. One, Barack Obama is possessed of a pliable identity that oscillates between Barry and Barack, between White and Black, between the Harvard Law Review and the Chicago slums, between a leftish voting record in the Senate and a right-of-center message on the stump. He is neither saint nor softie, but the most consummate power politician to come out of Chicago since Richard Daley the Elder. Following classical electoral ritual in the U.S., Obama has been moving steadily to the right, be it on the death penalty, gun control, or Iraq. Europeans haven't quite processed his pilgrimage to the center, and if they have, they seem not to care.

"He is a universal icon," gushes Ijoma Mangold, a commentator for Munich's Süddeutsche Zeitung, the country's largest quality daily. Obama's "greatest talent," he says, "is to have turned his person into a grand narrative many would like to make their own."

The Washington correspondent of another major left-of-center publication puts it in more practical terms: "Obama recognizes the limits of American power and influence. ... The weight of the White House (in world affairs) is waning. ... In this multipolar world not all the roads will lead through Washington." For the new president (and there is no doubt in Europe that it will be Obama), this means "more cooperation, more UN, NATO, and EU."

This, of course, is Europe's favorite dream: a post-Bush America cut down to size and chastened, a meeker and more modest America, a more "European" (that is, a more social-democratic) America, which at last casts off some of its nastier capitalist habits. An America that is a lot more like us Europeans who have forgone power politics and sovereignty in favor of communitarian politics and integration.

This is the canvas Europeans have been painting with wildly enthusiastic brush strokes. If Obama wins, the reality will be different. Sure, President Obama would speak more softly than did Mr. Bush in his first term, but he would still be carrying the biggest stick on earth. He will preside over an America that is still No. 1 and not part of a multipolar chorus populated by Russia, China, India, and the E.U.

Germans should have read the foreign-policy chapter in Obama's The Audacity of Hope. There are passages in there which read like pure Bush--on unilateralist action, on the right of pre-emption, on playing the world's "sheriff." Obama's upshot: "This will not change--nor should it." This doesn't mean more Bushism if Obama is elected. But it is a useful reminder that the U.S. plays in a league of its own--with global interest, with global military means, and with the willingness to use them.

In Berlin, hundreds of thousands will cheer a projection rather than a flesh-and-blood Obama on Thursday. After Inauguration Day, alas, Europe and the world will not face a Dreamworks president, but the leader of a superpower. Whether McCain or Obama, the 44th president will speak more nicely than did W. in his first term. He will also pay more attention to the "decent opinions of mankind." But he will still preside over the world's largest military, economic, and cultural power.

This vast power differential is what Germans and Europeans don't quite fathom in their infatuation with Obama. Their problem was not Mr. Bush, but Mr. Big--America as Behemoth Among the Nations, unwilling to succumb to the dictates of goodness that animate post-heroic, post-imperial, and post-sovereign Europe.

Josef Joffe is publisher-editor of the German weekly Die Zeit, as well as a fellow of the Institute for International Studies and the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford.


Ariella

----- Original Message -----
From: Joel
To: Ariella; Elizabeth
Sent: Thu Jul 24 13:33:48 2008
Subject: RE: Hi from in front of the Victory Column

Liz,

Great to get a first-hand correspondent's report, even before it is posted on a blog! Thanks for sharing this interesting information.

I find Josef Joffe's piece very interesting, and precisely what I would have expected from him.

I look forward to more news from you.

Joel

----- Original Message -----
From: Elizabeth
To: Joel; Ariella
Sent: Fri Jul 25 04:48:31 2008
Subject: Re: Hi from in front of the Victory Column
Excellent article. It seemed like a lot of the people in the crowd were slightly euphoric about Obama. He was 15 minutes late and at one point they started clapping in a chanting type fashion. We had a pre-scheduled dinner with some young Germans later that night and I had a really interesting conversation with a German guy in his late 20s. He said that he is sure that without a doubt Obama will win by a lot. I've heard others say that since I've been here. I of course mentioned that much of the middle of the country, those who elected GWB may not vote for Obama. This guy is a journalist and very attuned to politics - he wanted to go because his father heard JFK speak when he came to Berlin in the 60s. He liked that Obama spoke with a lot of "large words," to use his terminology. Essentially he liked the esoteric side of Obama. Another German at dinner said that Germans are so into Obama and so sure he is going to win because they only show him and not McCain on TV in Germany.

I do have to say I was very moved by the parallels he drew with US freedom and the references to the Berlin wall, especially with everything I have learned and experienced since being here. It truly is fate that we were here at this time!

On another note, the German guy I mentioned above, Martin, told me a really crazy story I thought you'd like to hear:

One day he was hiking in Saxony with a friend and they encountered some Neo-Nazis. Apparently Neo-Nazis in Germany are quite similar to their counterparts in America in that they come from small insolated towns where there are no jobs. These particular Neo-Nazis were in a bar. They next day Martin put on his tefillin right in front of them. He said that if the Neo-Nazis knew that there a Jew in their midst, they may be trouble. However, he knew they were too stupid to know what he was doing.

We are on our way to Potsdam now. Shabbat shalom!



Elizabeth M. Foreman

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

On Sunday, we had a lackluster bus tour of Berlin. Lackluster in the sense that it was very difficult to grasp a hold of these important buildings, sites and landmarks in German and world history from the lush seat of a tour bus. One of the few spots where we were able to get off the bus was at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in the heart of Berlin.

Our tour guide explained that the memorial contains 2,711 concrete slabs, and as we could see, they were arranged on a grid pattern, sloping up and down. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the memorial. One thing that struck me is that the concrete slabs were protected by an anti-grafitti chemical. Halfway through completion of the project, it was discovered that the same company that produced xyclon-b, the chemical that was used in the gas chambers to poison prisoners in the death camps, also produced this exact chemical. The project was in the midst of completion and while surrounded in controversy, they moved forward.

The moment that our guide mentioned this, I smelled a chemical smell and got nauseous. Besides the fact that the memorial was emotionless, stale and lacked any personification, I felt as if it was almost mocking the victims.

We spent about 3 minutes wandering through the chaotic blocks. With a sense of haste, I knew I had to return.

And this is what I did earlier today. While I was with several people from my group, they all hurried to the other side of the memorial to enter to the Information Center, which I eventually made my way about 20 minutes later. In the meantime, I walked through the path surrounded by concrete slabs that got increasingly larger. While I didn't gain any sense of personality or emotion from an extended experience in the memorial, I was impressed by its architecture. I took a few pictures and added my own personality through color.

After I wandered through, I visited the Information Center underneath the memorial. Once inside, a sense of order was restored. It was cool (very well air conditioned to contrast the strong Berlin sun), modern (clean white lines), and welcoming (free). Immediately I noticed a powerful quote by Primo Levi, author and Holocaust Survivor.

The information center personified the blocks upstairs. One room reflected stories from various prisoners' journals somehow kept from during the war. The room that struck me the most told stories of individual families. The stories covered families from a variety of regions in Europe, families from Poland, Greece, Germany, Russia and many many others. They detailed the family's means of living through profession, religious and cultural affiliations and talked about each family member. These people were normal families with different aspirations and from various social spheres, but what guided them was their faith, and moreover their Jewish heritage. They were all Jewish. It didn't matter at what level; it mattered more their Jewish lineage. The memorial did such a beautiful job detailing the important aspects of each family that I could not bring myself to stop reading.

I was pressed for time and needed to be back at the hotel by a certain time to make our next activity. I felt such a strong sense of obligation to the families outlined in the information center that I read each story. Sometimes twice. Every time I stopped reading one story, I said to myself, OK, time to move on. But I glanced quickly at the next family and my heart sank. I had to read their story. If I didn't read it, who would? The least I could do for them was to learn a piece of their story.

I felt so moved that I purchased the book that contained the materials from the information center.

While I am still very mixed on the Memorial in the fresh air, I am proud that such justice was done to the victims downstairs.

New Friends

Later in the day we visited students studying at Humboldt University as part of the Leo Baeck Summer Institute. There were students who are studying Jewish Studies in Germany post-WWII. They are from all over the world and may are not Jewish, a huge surprise to me!

I first started talking to this guy, Mihai, who is not Jewish and from Romania. He told me he is studying in Bucharest and is from a "touristy" town on the Black Sea. I told him my father's side of the family is from Romania but left well over 100 years ago. He said they probably left between 1880 and 1902 because there was a large wave of Jewish emigration then. Hmm, yea, I thought. Has to be! Then I said my last name is Foreman and he said, "yes, Fuhrman - I do know someone whose last name is Fuhrman in my town and he is Jewish. How totally funny. I wonder if we are related. The best part was that I found out that he is studying anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe, at which point, my eyes lit up and I told him that I work for ADL. He seems so cool - I was blown away. After he finishes his degree in Bucharest, he wants to study in Israel.

I also met another student named Karol, who is a Polish Catholic studying International Affairs. I asked him if what was said was true, that there is a lot of anti-Semitism in Poland. He prefaced it by saying that he is not a patriotic Polish person, who was raised Catholic, but now denounces Catholicism. He said that anti-Semitism is very much classic anti-Semitism and people hold many typical anti-Semitic stereotypes. People deny it, but it still happens in the classic sense (Jews are cheap, rule the world, big noses, etc., etc.). He said that even though the Nazis orchestrated the Holocaust, the Poles had a lot to do with what happened. I asked, "they were the tools?" and he said, "yes, well, more. They took the initiative." He said even after the Holocaust when Jews came back to Poland to reclaim their homes and property, there were terrible pogroms.

I later asked him why he denounces Catholicism. He said that he doesn't like that the Priesthood is Celbate, and that this frustration causes pedophilia. Interesting theory. He says it is a hypocritical, chauvinistic religion. He doesn't like that women are seen as workers and not equals. Really incredible and intelligent guy. A little on the liberal side, though...

Revelation

This morning we went to the Jewish cemetery at Schonhauser Alle and it differed significantly from the cemetery we visited the day before. Yesterday's was where Moses Mendelsohn was buried. That cemetery was not well preserved and even though it was a Jewish cemetery, it had been ruined and vandalized several times - also since there were so many bodies and dead people - not necessarily Jews during WWII they just needed to bury people to avoid the spread of diseases. So they buried many people in mass graves. Wild grass and weeds had grown throughout. The trees inside were not healthy, clearly diseased. It was striking at first at how unhealthy the ground was there, but I talked about it with Deborah and she pointed out clearly that people had been buried without coffins and the ecosystem was not right. Our guide, Carolyn, said that the Jewish community maintains it, but there really is not enough money to preserve it adequately.

Visiting the cemetery at Schonhauser Alle was strikingly different. This was the Jewish community's cemetery starting in the 1600's and became full in the 1880's. These were people who lead full-fledged thriving lives in Germany long before the Holocaust. This cemetery was quite beautiful. It was full of rows of graves with ivy flowing all over. Clearly very overgrown, but that added to its beauty. I was really moved with how beautiful it was. Moreover, it made me realize that it is so important to still go to Germany.

Two people in my life, one in her 70's and the other in her 90's, had a strong feeling that they could never go to Germany. We need to keep and remember the Jews who lived and died somewhat normal lives just as we remember those who died in the Holocaust. A life is a life and we cannot allow memorializing the Holocaust and the bitterness of Germany's past to stop us from remembering the beauty of those who came before. The day before, we visited the Neue Synagogue and learned about the archives that have been kept on the Jewish community from generations leading up to the Holocaust. Seeing that this vast archive of records exists on such an organized level and that they are actively working with other archives to add to the story - to complement what they know. Piece by piece they are trying to reconstruct Jewish life.

Gutenmorgen from Berlin!

From: Elizabeth Foreman [mailto:elizforeman@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:10 AM
Subject: Gutenmorgen from Berlin
- Hide quoted text -

Good morning from Berlin!

I am having an incredible time so far. Let me first start by saying that I have noticed some cultural differences: the German keyboard is different... the y and the z are switched and there seems to be an extra key to the right of the shift, so now that I have said that, please forgive anz y or z switches...

I arrived Fridaz morning and straight off the terminal, I felt a tight feeling in mz chest as I heard an announcement in German. It was a beautiful voice announcing some plane departure information for another flight. Even though I knew I was in Germany, it immediatelz reminded me of a Holocaust movie. This was definitelz something I was afraid would happen, since one of mz main associations with Germanz was teh Holocaust and all that has been done to memorialiye it through teh zears. I was verz fortunate to have someone from mz trip, Sara, also on mz flight. As we were waiting for our bags, Sara actuallz whispered teh exact same sentiment in mz ear.
A few dazs later I have gotten over the Holocaust association and am enjozing hearing the German I hear. I gavge up trzing to phoneticallz pronounce each word but have now adopted a German accent and am pronouncing everz word in sight. Mz favorite word is Kurferfurstendamm, which happens to be teh street we are staying on, known as the 'Fifth Avenue' of Berlin. It has some similar stores, although, not quite as upscale. You can see 2 H&Ms from my hotel and a Zara, though, along with some other interesting European stores. I have done no shopping zet, though, wohoo!

I have been to several museums... the Museum Bergreun (Picasso Museum), Dali Museum and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, all of which have been cool. It is impossible to avoid hthe holocaust historz in this citz. we have seen countless memorials. The citz is full of recentlz constructed buildings, not to mention manz manz manz buildings currentlz under construction.
As for the reason Iäm hear.... Germanz Close Up! mz trip.. to explain the trip, I will send zou to the website www.germanycloseup.de but can give a bit of mz own experience so far. The first night at dinner we heard from a man named Karsten Voigt who works in Transatlantic Affairs for the German government. Basicallz the program was his brainchild. The program is funded bz the German government as a result of teh Marshall Plan. For those of zou who donät remember from 11th grade US historz, the Marshall Plan essentiallz paid to rebuild Europe (or specificallz Germanz) after WWII. So now, Germanz, is repazing its debt to teh US. I was blown awaz to hear this and reallz cannot express how moved I am to be a part of the Marshall Plan over 60 zears later.

Mz group is leaving in 10 minutes to visit a Jewish cemetarz and laetr meet some zoung German students for a scavenger hunt around the citz. the program has been amaying, powerful, upsetting, fun, exciting all in one. I wish I had more time to write more... hopefullz I can write again. The good news is the people on mz trip are amaying and besides the great program content, I can honestlz saz teh people are making it. Besides being cool, interesting and mature people, all are verz intelligent.

Hope all is well in the states!

Love,
Liy

Journey

Yesterday I tried to write an entry, but was unsuccessful. Trying to write now. Yesterday we went to a memorial for Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, whose bodies were returned to Israel in exchange for a Hezbollah prisoner. We went a memorial service at the Judische Gemeinde. First a woman spoke in German and then there was a prayer by a rabbi. I felt like I was a part of it when I heard Hebrew. I got chills when the rabbi started to recite Yahrzeit. Everyone chimed in and it was powerful that despite whatever language we spoke, Hebrew is the common space. It was also the site of a concrete Holocaust Memorial wall. It listed several camps and there was a flame that must have already been lit. The symbolism between that wall behind and the fact that they were commemorating - memorializing - two Israeli soldiers is striking. In my mind, Israel came after Germany it is hard to rationalize German Jews grieving over the death of Israeli soldiers. Before this trip I never really put much thought to the current Jewish community in Germany. And the strange contradiction of Jews in Germany memorializing Israeli soldiers really made me think. I have been taught certain things, but never really reinforced to the fact that Jews stayed in Europe following the Holocaust. These are small communities and largely ignored by the mass of the Jewish community. There are a lot of similarities between the Jewish community I know and the one today in Germany. It has changed through the decades since the end of the war, but honestly, it still goes along with the same notion that they want Jewish survival and human survival. I suppose the basics have not really changed.

The Jewish community has to move on and embrace life wherever it may be. They did not abandon Germany; however, the promise for Zion was still with them wherever we are. Am Yisrael Chai and we are one, regardless of place.

Wansee Villa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Solution

Right now we're at the place where The Final Solution was discussed. The Final Solution was a meeting of the leaders of the Nazi Party in the Wansee Villa just outside of Berlin. At this meeting, the Nazi leaders discussed the plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe.

It is a really beautiful house overlooking the river. It is really striking how beautiful the house is and the marble pillars and marble fire place are. It was a really intense museum in the sense that it had constant words and quotes and historical text about the ideas and events leading up to this decision. It boggles my mind that human beings can still have a conversation about exterminating people, as if they are bugs. To be here and see how regal this place is put in the context that the men of the Third Reich were truly politicians and government people and police and truly decided the fate of millions in one room. I just don't understand how something like that could happen. The physical beauty and tranquility of the villa pissed me off. I have visited a few mansions and palaces and I now realize that these men were staying here and meeting as a retreat from their normal government offices. They lived their lives in luxury and arbitrarily decided in such a beautiful place the fate of millions.

Reading the information and quotes hit me, but it got emotional when I read quotes by survivors and grandchildren of survivors. It put a real face and name and context. The bulk of the exhibit was in black and white, but these quotes were in blue. The color showed hope and light.

Germany's Contradiction

Tonight we settled into our first dinner together as a group. The program is funded by the German Foreign Ministry. The very interesting thing is that as a result of the Marshall Plan, Germany is now "repaying" its debt to America through this program. I feel amazed to be a part of history. I know nothing will ever ever ever make the Holocaust OK, but the Germans are truly owning up to their responsibilities. I feel so honored to be a part of this program. I feel so honored to have a place in this history.

With that, we heard from a representative of the German government who works in Transatlantic relations and focuses on German-American relations. He was quite fascinating - introducing himself by saying that he was born in 1941 and then following to say that anti-Semitism was never OK in his household. He apparently attended the Auschwitz trial. We covered a lot of topics like the place of the two largest minority groups - former Soviet Jews and Turks. Lots of issues have arisen. Beyond this, we somehow got onto the topic of Iran. I know - I asked him about his projects. Even though he works on the American-German relations, most of his work is not bilateral. He does a lot of work with America, Germany, and other countries, including Iran, Israel and many others. And so I asked what was the conversation like about Iran. He voiced that America went into Iraq to get to Iran, but perhaps that was the wrong order. I asked if Germany talks with Iran and he said yes. Apparently, according to him, America sees Iran and namely Ahmadinejad's words as a threat of nuclear capabilities. Germany sees it more nuanced - less that anything will actually happen. I questioned him on the Holocaust denial issue. I questioned him about the nuclear weapons more, but sort of ceded that perhaps Germany is naive when it comes to Iran. Regarding Holocaust denial, I asked if when he talks with Iranian officials, does he mention their denial of the Holocaust, especially in light of how much Germany has taken ownership of the genocide that they commited. He stated and reiterated that Iran and namely Ahmadinejad is very ideological and what he says in theory is not necessarily how others in government act. This concerned me, though, because in the public arena he denies it happened. I don't understand how a country that has done so much to take ownership for the Holocaust can then trust the two-faced government.

If Ahmadinejad's ideology is not the practice of others in government, then what is? I am concerned for how soft Germany is on Iran. He even said straight out - the German people see Ahmadinejad's words similarly to the discourse before WWII. Should that not be a red flag? Clearly Germany, of all countries, ought to tell Iran no. Iran, take Germany's mistake and stop. Germany perpetrated the murder of 11 million people and they say Iran is now only talking in ideological terms? Mein Kampf was written in ideological terms. So was the Final Solution. And then it came into fruition.

I don't want to let it seem like it was a bad dinner with him. It was very interesting and thought-provoking. However, he was a seasoned politician and clearly redirected my tougher questions well. It's taken my after-thought processing to really see what was lacking and what was truly troubling about that conversation.

So that was day 1 of the program. Goodnight!

Berlin Beginnings

The program officially started this afternoon, but I arrived in Berlin on Friday morning. My flight was at 7 PM on Thursday night from NY and it was pretty uneventful. I was lucky that I had Sara on my flight and a familiar face since a bunch of the NYers all met last Saturday night at Adam's apartment on the UWS. Once Sara and I got to the hotel, we had a note from Eryn who I had known was also coming early. Sara, Eryn and I all wanted to immediately explore Berlin. We ran into Deborah and Rivky, who we also met last Saturday night. They were going to get kosher food for Shabbat. Sara, Eryn and I went to try to find some fashion week events, since it happens to be Berlin Fashion Week July 17 - 20. We also made it to the Brandenburg Gate, which there was no access to while the Berlin Wall was up. We saw a bunch of embassies - American, French and British, which all have a prime location because they were built soon after the wall fell. They all had first dibs. We then found our way into some public gallery space which had really cool pop art. We saw some cool fashion week stuff in a gallery - stands with designer-like clothing. The fun part of it all was the adventure of public transportation. We bought an all-day pass for a group and used buses and trains, although you do not need to punch it in on the train. It's on an honor system and well, the next day Eryn and I just used our pass from the day before... Anyway, eventually after my guidebook got us lost, we made it to Kreuzberg, which is in East Berlin. We got to the Turkish market, which was awesome. All the Turkish men yelling prices out at you and fresh fruit stand after fresh fruit stand. Everyone offering you to try samples. Random people picking a grape or a cherry to taste. The prices were also very good. It was a fun experience to be in a hectic, pushy at times, atmosphere where the men at the stands didn't speak English and we didn't speak German or Turkish. I ate a cool thing that was a hot square of filo dough that had spinach and cheese in it. The next day was today - Saturday - Sara, Rivky and Deborah did Shabbat stuff. Eryn and I took off the Picasso Museum - Museum Bergruen, which was cool because it had Picassos from his various stages in life. I really liked the portraits the best. He also had some Henri Matise. Paul Klee and one other artist. We checked Schloss Charlottenberg, which is a castle of a German Queen, whose husband built it for her as a retreat. I was a little disappointed by the castle because it was said to be done in the style of Versailles but the building grounds didn't seem to be kept up so well. After that we went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, which highlights people who escaped the Berlin Wall (were able to sneak through). It was cool, but very disorganized. It was a lot of pictures and words all at once. After, Eryn and I found an outfoor area right next to the path of the wall, which basically told the story going back to the Potsdam Conference. We should have read it before we went in! Nonetheless, it was very cool to refresh my knowledge of that history and to stand where the wall once stood. We travelled back to the hotel because the program was actually about to begin.