Coming to terms with terms of the past

Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache. The German language presents many pitfalls, especially for native Germans. There are so many words that are taboo because the Nazis used them, for example Anschluss or Endlösung. If somebody uses these words out of their well-known historical context, it will most definitely mean the immediate end of their career. “But you don’t even need to use Nazi-tainted terms to get into trouble,” SPIEGELOnline writes in a review of Thorsten Eitz’s and Georg Stötzel’s new dictionary, Wörterbuch der ‘Vergangenheitsbewältigung’ (Dictionary of ‘Coming to Terms with the Past’).

Just using the same rhetorical techniques as Joseph Goebbels, king of Third Reich propaganda, and other leading Nazis can land you in hot water. Former Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering found this out the hard way in 2005 when he described hostile foreign investors as “locusts.” Müntefering, who belongs to the left wing of the Social Democratic Party, was criticized for comparing people with animals, a trope considered deeply problematic due to the Nazi practice of portraying Jews as parasites and vermin.

The dictionary, which discusses around 1,000 words and phrases, was published last December. Read the entire review here.

Broder finally in English!

Should Britain accept some aspects of Shariah, the legal code of Islam? While the brouhaha about the archbishop of Canterbury – who made such a suggestion – continues, I was pleased to see Henryk Broder’s article about that topic translated into English.

Henryk M. Broder is one of Germany’s most prominent Jewish journalists. He is well-known for his outspokenness and his satirical, sometimes hurtful polemical style. Some people love him, others hate him – but I think nobody can deny that he is living proof to the fact that not all European media are biased against Israel. The media in Germany is not, as Broder demonstrates ever so often. He periodically writes articles for Spiegel Online, Germany’s leading news resource on the Web. Most of his articles, which are prominently posted on the site, are either staunchly pro-Israel or bitterly critical of Islamism. Whoever knows of Spiegel Online and the impact it has – the site has about 65 million visits per year – can no longer seriously claim that the media is always against Israel.

While Broder’s often funny articles have until recently been accessible only to people who read German, Spiegel Online’s international edition has started translating some of his articles.

Here is his piece about the archbishop’s modest proposal, called Sharia is for Everyone!

Germany’s Jewish community is growing fast – without me

Tonight, Rabbi Josh Spinner gave a lecture at Yeshiva University’s Wilf Campus. Rabbi Spinner is the vice president of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, a well-intended organization that aims at rebuilding and strengthening Jewish life where the Holocaust has left few traces of it. The topic of Rabbi Spinner’s presentation: Why does Germany have the fastest growing Jewish community in the world today?

I don’t know Rabbi Spinner personally, but I know his yeshiva in Berlin and I guess the answer to his question involves the tens of thousand East European Jews who came to Germany after the collapse of Communism, some of which have children studying at the yeshiva…

In any event, I was wondering if Rabbi Spinner had read the brilliant article, which recently appeared in The Economist. The article basically said it all:

By the time the Berlin Wall fell, Germany’s Jewish community had only 30,000 ageing members and was dwindling rapidly. Today it is the third-largest, and the fastest-growing, Jewish population in western Europe, after France and Britain. Between 1991, when the country was unified and immigration rules relaxed, and 2005, more than 200,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union emigrated to Germany… In some parts of Germany, immigrants—usually referred to as “the Russians”—make up 90% of the local Jewish population.

Besides statistics, the article also pointed out, unfortunately quite correctly, how dissatisfied many German Jews are with this wave of immigration:

Established Jews find the newcomers anders (different from us), suspect that they are not “real” Jews and think they are mainly coming in search of prosperity and material help from the state and the community. “They take whatever they can get,” sniffs one.

It is toward the end of the article, however, that the authors brings the point home:

Germans will have to adapt to having a big, largely secular Jewish community. Established Jews will have to accept that the glory days of sophisticated German Jewry—from Albert Einstein to Kurt Weill—are gone forever.

At first, I was tempted to attend Rabbi Spinner’s lecture, not only because I grew up in Germany and thus witnessed the often-quoted “growth” first hand. But then I decided to spend my time on something else: filling out some paperwork for my upcoming aliyah… Good luck with your growth, Jewish Germany, you need it!

“No future for me:” Why young Germans in New York don’t want to go back

As the spring semester unfolds, hundreds of Jewish foreign student in their last semester on American campuses start worrying about their future in this country. Visa restrictions make it increasingly harder for non-Americans to stay in the U.S. after graduation. The interesting question is, however: Why do so many young Jews leave their home countries to come here? Most Jewish students from Europe and Latin America come from wealthy or at least comfortable backgrounds. Also, many of them grew up in thriving Jewish communities. Or did they? An article that appeared a while ago in the Jerusalem Post tells the story of three German and two French Jews who came to New York to study and decided to stay. While some had no problems getting the required papers, for others it was – and still is – very difficult. But apparently the hardships are worth it, because nobody wants to go back.

One thing was always clear to Nowbakht: He would not stay in Germany, although he said he enjoyed his childhood there. “It’s tough to live in Germany as an Orthodox Jew. There’s no future for me there.”

Luckily, he had no serious problems obtaining a work visa. One of his friends, also from Germany, did not fare as well:

The 25-year-old, who withheld his name because he is currently “unlawfully present” in America, spent about $17,000 on legal fees, appealing and reapplying, but to no avail.

Read the entire article here.

Carnival: Tasteless in Munich, more fun in Cologne

A German rapper being ousted from a TV reality show for lifting his arm for the Hitler salute, carnival celebrations in Munich on the same day Auschwitz was liberated: there was no lack of news this week. We won’t go into detail here, the issues were widely covered in Israeli and Jewish media. Do see this Jewlicious article about the whole carnival in Germany issue, as it provides a little bit more insight.

By the way: Tomorrow is Weiberfastnacht, the official start of the carnival, or Karneval, season in Köln/Cologne. Or Fastelovend, as real Kölsche Jung would call it. Need a place to celebrate? Loreley, a Köln-themed restaurant and biergarten has Karneval parties all weekend. Kölle Alaaf!

The NY Times about how Germany deals with the Holocaust

Finally an article that addresses the question I hear time and again from American Jews when they learn that I grew up as a Jew in Germany. How do “the Germans” feel about the Holocaust? Did they sincerely regret or are they just waiting for a chance to murder us again?

Willkommen!

Welcome to Ashkenews, the new blog that deals with all things having to do with German Jewry, pre- and post World War II. Please feel free to comment! Enjoy!