In memory of what happened to the victims of the horrible devastation that the Nazis brought about on November 9, 1938, I did a few things, all of which made me feel good about living in Berlin. Given the recent critiques of memory culture in Germany and the dreadful things happening in other parts of the world, I’d like to share those reflections.
First, I did some work for the Stolperstein Group in my neighborhood that I had joined in October. Stolpersteine are “stumbling stones” to remember people – mainly Jewish Germans – but not only — who were murdered during World War II (See the official description Stolpersteine in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf – Berlin.de and the two newspaper accounts: ‘Stumbling stones’: a different vision of Holocaust remembrance | Cities | The Guardian Stolpersteine: A history of Germany’s Holocaust remembrance stumbling stones (iamexpat.de) I did some research for a forthcoming stone for a woman who had lived nearby in the 1930s and 1940s and was murdered in Sobibor. Second, I laid white roses on 21 stones on my street and was thanked by an older couple walking by, as well as a younger couple who was doing the same thing. Then my husband and I joined 2,000 other Berliners on a beautiful more or less silent walk to remember the thousands of Jewish Germans whose lost their livelihoods and more on the so-called Night of the Broken Glass: see Gedenken in Berlin – Erinnern. Gedenken. Mitgehen. and „Nie wieder ist jetzt“: Rund 2000 Berliner nehmen an Gedenkweg in der City West teil (tagesspiegel.de) and in the New York Times: Germany Remembers Kristallnacht at a Fraught Moment – The New York Times (nytimes.com) The beautiful and moving voice of Vladimir Korneev, who I had heard the evening before in one of my favorite cabarets (https://www.bar-jeder-vernunft.de/) stayed in my consciousness (see Interview with Vladimir Korneev: “The stage was my therapy” | News and Criticism | BR-KLASSIK | Bayerischer Rundfunk).
Given the plethora of articles in the local press of the fear that some Jews living in Germany have since Hamas’ horrendous massacre of October 7th it was gratifying to participate in these events. No, I don’t feel afraid. I wonder if that may be, because I am used to passing (see the Passing Game by Warren Hoffman) as a gay Jewish German American white man or that my Jewishness is only one part of my identity. As a humanist, it is clear to me that more can and should be done in the world to address peoples’ desires to be heard and not to resort to violence. Rather than writing about my critique of politics in Germany and/or the disheartening development of rightwing movements, it is indeed wonderful to re-focus on positive things, as well as to have heard great speeches by the Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, the President among others, that show the caring and thoughtful sides of German political life. Last week in the local newspaper I was also thrilled to read an article about the ways in which a teacher in a high school in Berlin was working with his curious teenagers to explain about the historical context of the war in Gaza, as well as to listen to their concerns about the back stories of the war about territory …
The recent meeting of the new Keshet Book Group that I wrote about in July is connected to these positive feelings. The most recent discussion last Monday about Warren Hoffman, Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture fits well in this context of recent developments. We had a thought-provoking discussion about the need to pass, as well as when people need it less and how we internalize such feelings, whether we identify as Jewish or queer.
While I aware that this positive view may be considered naïve by others who are apt to criticize political and cultural developments in Germany, it is necessary to put those political problems in perspective of other positive developments, which they are fortunately plenty. After all such personal experiences are indeed important for those who care deeply about living in an open, tolerant, accepting, and caring society that welcomes others more than it may be credited for doing so.
Chronicles from Berlin 