A long day!
First, Dr. Pruin (who, by the way, has the most amazing German accent!) took us on a walking tour of Jewish Berlin beginning with the site of the first synagogue which was razed, by who else? The Nazis. She began her lecture with explaining the complex German identity. Even though Germany is reunified, people from East and West still don't identify themselves as a nation yet. The 40 years under foreign rule divided the lives of the Germans in a way that neither experienced the other's culture and lifestyle. They both learned history and the story of WWII differently. They even developed some distinction in their German language (sort of like how we use soda vs pop). She emphasized that we should consider each person's perspective based on their location before the Wall came down. So in our group, we had 2 people from each side- Dr. Puin and our AJC rep, Lena, from West Germany and the other two, Melissa and Jasper, from East Germany. It reminded me a bit of all the different Jewish identities in Israel and why Israel still doesn't have a constitution because everyone has their own definition of what it means to an Israeli and a Jew.
Why was her lecture entitled "Empty Spaces, Don't Trust the Grass"? It's one of her main interests to recognize all the empty courtyards and spaces in Berlin where Jewish buildings used to occupy and was never built over again after the war as a sign of respect and memorialization to Jews. They occupied about 35% of Berlin before the war and about 17% of the total German population. So those numbers were quite significant.
During our tour, we saw several memorials dedicated to different aspects of Jewish history. The first synagogue had a memorial dedicated to non-Jewish German women who protested the Nazis' house-arrest of their Jewish husbands (because the Nazis didn't believe in mixed marriages). Some people said that 5 women showed up. Others said 40. Some say hundreds. In any way, the memorial was obviously Jewish with the Lion and Menorah symbols.
The second memorial that Dr. Pruin (with Lena's help) pointed out were the copper memorial stones on the sidewalks. Each stone had a person's name, birthdate, and some other personal information. They were all dedicated to the Holocaust victims. High schools in Germany actually are still raising money to have more of these places. There's a suggestion (even I would've done it anyway) that people shouldn't step on them as a way to respect the victims. They're just all over the place.
Third, we walked by another memorial that happened to be next to Berlin's private Jewish high school. Dr. Pruin used the opportunity to tell a bit about the importance of remembering the vibrant Jewish culture, especially Moses Mendelsohnn. When we walked by the high school, Dr. Pruin asked one of the guys who was hanging out with his friends at the front to come down and say a few words about the German youth and the Holocaust. He was actually an Israeli who had been living in Berlin for 5 years. He talked about the backlash among the German youth towards the Holocaust because it's emphasized in literally every subject except for math and science. His words stuck in our heads for the rest of the day because the idea of a backlash against the Holocaust was so foreign to us because we know how important the Holocaust is in the States. By the way, there was an empty space where a Jewish house used to be and along the walls of the houses next to it were plaques of the Jewish families' names who occupied that house before the Holocaust.
We had lunch and met with a very high official at the German Foreign Ministry. She talked about German-Israeli relations which I kind of zoned out because right then it was hurting too much to talk about Israel with the consideration of a possible postponement of the trip in January. But I did pay attention when some people asked questions....very hard questions about the German relations with Israel, especially in relation to the Holocaust and the Palestinian situation. They also wanted to know about the younger generation and how to maintain that "Israel's Best Friend in Europe" status.
Afterward, we had tea with an Israeli representative from some Council to talk about the Israeli perspective on this conversation of German-Israeli relations. We brought up the backlash effect and he said that they're working on to make sure it wouldn't actually happen and to keep Germany involved with Israel for a long time. I asked about perhaps Israel should emphasize the need for the Germans to recognize the good in Germany's history with the Jews (aka the Jewish Enlightenment) and he agreed but still wanted to put forth the importance of the Holocaust.
Later, we had a light buffet dinner with Dr. Pruin's students and watched Walk on Water (for the sixth time for me). It's so funny with that movie- it's so thought-provoking for me that every time I see it, I recognize something new and react differently. Especially with the Israeli characters, especially Eyal, the main character. Though he's quite pessimistic in his view of the world, he still cared about the same thing that's part of the Israeli culture- the lessons he learned in the Army, and the importance of being with the family (when he asked Pia why would she never want to see her family again in front of the Kotel). When the setting switched to Berlin, I definitely picked up the formality that I had already experienced just hours earlier. Wow, it's so stiff! It was also interesting to watch it with the Germans and other Americans who hadn't seen the movie to see what jokes they laughed at and whether I laughed with them or not- or during scenes where I laughed on my own because I understand from the Israeli perspective that it'd be funny to them. Oh, the cafe was right next to where the Berlin Wall used to be and Europe's busiest plaza before the war! Now, it's pretty much dead.
When we had long discussion afterward, it really irked me. First we talked about the Holocaust. The German students said that no one ever talked about the Holocaust after the war not until 1970s and still don't in their households. It's just something that people don't really talk about so they have to hear it through their schools. One of them, a cultural studies major, mentioned how she never learned about the Jewish culture in Germany before the war until she entered the university. They emphasized why they deal with it- to take responsibility and somehow contribute to make up for the loss. Then the discussion switched over to Darfur. Which really, really made me angry. Dr. Pruin had to keep reminding the Americans that Germany is very "reluctant" to compare their Nazi Holocaust with ANYTHING else in the world or in history (aka Cambodia and Armenia/Turkey). I found that I was almost pretty much the only one who shared with the Germans' views.
Basically I found out that the Americans in my group didn't differentiate genocides and appeared to put Darfur at par with Germany. To them, genocide meant all the same- mass killings of a single population. I certainly learned more about why they supported stopping the civil war in Darfur. Then someone brought up multiple use of the word "holocaust." The Germans were quite silent on this issue and refused to talk about it. I wanted to scream at the Americans for how can they compare anything with the Holocaust in Nazi Germany? So 300,000 people are dead so far in Sudan but we're talking 6 or 11 million people who were gassed and fired into pits in less than four years in Europe. The Nazis had a truly systematic plan to eliminate all Jews and other inferiors in the world so that only the Aryans actually ruled the world with some other people working as serfs. I don't care of it's my "duty" or "obligation" as a Jew to support the cause to save Darfur, I just cannot compare or relate like that. I bet that's why Israel's so quiet on the Darfur issue- it never ever came up in the discussions with the Israelis or in the media (only with the Ravids). When I worked at the US Holocaust Museum, I was shocked that they had an exhibition devoted to the issues and a day-long conference for the interns in the area to learn more about the genocide in Sudan. I remembered after a little, I got a little fed up because I just felt that this issue had no place in the USHMM because it should be limited to the Nazi genocide. Then I asked Peter why all this? He calmly explained that the Museum was supported by the US government and obviously, it should be doing things to please to the US government, even it meant going off subject as to show that the US government and the Museum were aware of the situation. I was still seething about it because if I was the Museum director, I would have said no way. If we're going to "recognize" this genocide, then we should also have exhibits on the Armenian genocide and Cambodia too even if they're finished. There's another factor as to why I don't pay much attention is that it's Africa. It's nearly impossible to solve problems there because the foundation of that civilization is primitive and we've been a modern one for quite several centuries and have no roots to that.
My two cents. And it's just something I'll rant if I'm asked about it or that topic gets brought up in a discussion. Remember, Nazis systematically killed the Jews with technology and science in a short amount of time and wiped out a very important Jewish culture in Europe and changed the world forever for the world and the Jews.
Finally, an Israeli (well, born in the US to Israeli parents) asked about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Germans had no clue or opinions on it. Again, Dr. Pruin emphasized that the Germans don't see anything beyond the issue of the Holocaust in dealing with the Jews. I asked two Germans what they thought of Pia, a German woman who met an Israeli and moved to a kibbutz in Israel (which is actually realistically impossible because only Jews can get Israeli citizenship). They said that they admire her and said that they would do it if they had to do community service for the government in lieu of military service. Now I can see why she'd be so happy over in Israel without the idea of the Holocaust hanging over her head all the time. I agree, in Israel, there is so much more to think about Jewish history and culture besides the Holocaust. It is not to say that the Germans don't care- it's just all the over-emphasis on the Holocaust.
With all of my understanding thus far, I kept thinking about the "discourse" that Dane and I had last spring that's still on the table. Remember that she mentioned how she wanted to live in Eastern Europe where the Jewish life and modern Jewish history began and see Eastern Europe beyond the Holocaust. That's what the Germans want. But I also can see the complications of trying to overcome that heavy emphasis without "forgetting" the Holocaust. I mean, really, what does Israel really mean in this picture? After today and being in Prague, I am not sure if I'd actually want to live here, even just to learn the German language because of the German youth's attitude towards the Holocaust and what I'm feeling already.
I never realized how sensitive I've become towards all these Israeli issues especially with the terminology. Somehow the word "conflict" in the phrase "Israeli-Arab/Palestinian conflict" doesn't work for me anymore. I mean, the definition is right but but that word just doesn't seem to exist in my vocabulary anymore. I think more in terms of "issues." That's how the Israelis put it. Issues. There are issues to work out. I think that word is better because it's more open-ended and it doesn't suggest that it needs to be resolve whereas when you hear the word "conflict" it's easier to think in tems of war and that needs to be stopped fast and settled right away. The situation is more complicated than that and it will take a long time for anything to come to fruition.
The biggest lesson I learned today was seeing why the Israelis would be so reluctant to deal with these type of hard questions because there is simply no right answer for anything. They're also so personal and conflicted. It doesn't mean that they don't care. It just creates a lot of tension between two people or within a group.
A friend and I noticed that despite what people have told us about Berlin being the hippest city with vibrancy and life, it was actually quite quiet compared to New York or Madrid. Even when we were out at 10ish, the traffic wasn't all that bad. Maybe we're in the wrong area of the city or there really aren't a lot people to occupy the size of Berlin now that the Jews are gone and people wanted to leave East Berlin for West Berlin. Hmmmmm. We'll find out on our bus tour tomorrow then!
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