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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 1, 2004
/ 11 Nissan, 5764
Hope and fear in Germany
By
Suzanne Fields
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
BERLIN — This is an ugly city of considerable beauty.
 | | Brandenberg Gate, Berlin |
Historical memory, like its architecture, is an aesthetic mix of emotions — crude and sumptuous, vulgar and ambitious, hateful and generous. A Jewish visitor walking through the modern metropolis is aggressively assaulted by monuments testifying to the evil of the previous century, while declaring the 21st-century German's willingness to reflect on this cruel past while looking with an energetic spirit to a better future.
Nothing about Berlin is static. A tourist rides a roller coaster of attitudes through an artless design that challenges the spirit to accept that the past is past. The subway station at Hausvogteiplatz is a metaphor for the New Berlin. The visitor climbs from the underground into the light on steps memorializing each of the textile factories that were "Aryanized" by the Nazis in the 1930s.
"Aryanization," or "transfer of Jewish businesses to Aryan hands," was how Jews were forced to sell their businesses for prices far below their actual value. The Berlin fashion industry disappeared from this neighborhood with "Aryanization."
Several generations of the Mendelssohn family presided over the family's bank in the neighborhood until the Nazis "Aryanized" it. Though the Mendelssohns had converted to Christianity, the Nazis considered them unreconstructed Jews anyway. Berliners recently placed a bronze plaque at the entrance of the building that once housed the bank. It's engraved with a crane, the Mendelssohn family's logo, emblematic of vigilance, duty and responsibility.
The Mendelssohns were typical of Jews often regarded by others of their race as more German than Jewish, contributors to the business and cultural life of Berlin before Hitler. The Mendelssohn women held salons for great German writers, artists and composers.
Moses Mendelssohn, founder of the family dynasty, entered Berlin in the middle of the 18th century through the only gate open to the Jews — the gate for pigs and cows. Although he became known as the "German Socrates," and once edged Emanuel Kant for first prize in a contest sponsored by the philosophical society of Berlin, he suffered many personal indignities simply for his race, indignities illustrated in the city's Jewish Museum.
More than any other European country, Germany confronts its history of anti-Semitism (sometimes with a heavy hand) through museums, monuments, libraries and conferences, extensively documenting the horrors of the Holocaust. But anti-Semitism survives, in two varieties.
The weakest variety is expressed by the neo-Nazis, who spread their venom to include the homeless, the punks, the leftists and gays as well as Jews. Most anti-Semitic incidents are aimed at links between Jews and the politics of Israel and the United States, incidents often perpetrated by radical Muslims.
A report on anti-Semitism in Europe, commissioned last year by the European Union and conducted by the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism at the Technical University in Berlin, describes both varieties. In one example, two Jewish women, walking on a Berlin street, are attacked because each wears a Star of David on a necklace. In another example, a leaflet decrying "globalization" depicts Uncle Sam with a stereotypical Jewish nose.
The European Union initially suppressed this report on anti-Semitism because "the focus on Muslim and pro-Palestinian perpetrators . was judged inflammatory." (But isn't "inflammatory" the whole point of anti-Semitism?)
When I attended Friday night services at the Fraenkelufer synagogue in the Kreuzberg section of Berlin, the security guards asked for identification. A Molotov cocktail had been thrown into the courtyard. The service was held in what had been a small wing of the original synagogue, built in 1916. The larger structure was set on fire on Kristallnacht, "the night of broken the glass" in November 1938, when Nazis attacked Jewish synagogues and businesses.
The congregation of about 100 now worships before a simple wooden ark that holds the Torah. Plain white walls, with spare neoclassical columns and graceful candelabras, project an ancient piety in spirited voices raised in song and prayer.
After the service, I joined a small group of young adults, both Christians and Jews, to celebrate the Sabbath. The hosts were recently married. The husband, born in Germany, and his wife, a Russian Jew who recently came to Berlin, had met as tour leaders at the Jewish Museum. They're expecting their first child and they rejoice in being able to raise their baby as a Jew in Berlin.
We said prayers for bread and wine in Hebrew and enjoyed lively conversation amid the shimmering Sabbath lights like so many Jews had done before us in Berlin. Our prayers and songs kindled ancient memories of hope ... and fear.
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Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2004, Suzanne Fields. TMS
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