Museums and the Holocaust

 

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JOURNAL 

 

IT IS WRITTEN IN THE TALMUD (MEGILLAH 5)

And Rabbi Yitzchak said: “What is the meaning of that which it is written: 'Grant not Hashem the desires of the wicked one, do not remove his nose ring, that they should be exalted, selah' (Psalms 140:9)

Yaakov said: “Master of the World: Do not grant Esau the evil one the desire of his heart – Do not remove his nose ring- This refers to Germania of Edom, who if they would go forth, they would destroy the entire world.

And Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said: “There are 300 crowned princes in Germania of Edom.”

The Maharsha commented to this verse that the preoccupation of Germania of appointing a leader prevented them from going forth and destroying the world and this is the nose ring that the verse above talks about.

 

 

March 8th 2008

I thought this journal should begin at home, before our departure, since my preconceptions and feelings about Germany accompanied me every step of the way once in that country.

It almost seemed wrong to go, as closed relatives stated too many times they would never want to step in that country. No, it's not my generation's fault, but still... The language? “Sounds terrible”.  When I lost my green card at the airport I almost thought it was meant to be. Maybe I am not supposed to go to Germany. I almost type “go back” to Germany, but I, have never been there before.

On the plane there I lend my cell phone to an old German couple. I help them call different numbers like 10 times. I think, these people might have lived through WWII. I don't think they're anti-Semitic but why let them see the Jewish star hanging from my neck? I feel I would make them feel embarrassed, for some reason. Dumb, I know. They're very polite.

 

March 9th 2008

As we pass the first Holocaust memorial (a list of death camps titled “Orte des Schreckens” or “Places of Terror”) I wonder how hard it must be to be constantly reminded of one's country's role in genocide. Or do people even bother to look?

 

 

Sings on the Street

The second memorial we pass is very engaging. It consists of a series of signs on poles along the street which contain certain laws that the Nazis passed against non-Aryans, especially Jews, beginning with small, insignificant things like “Jews cannot be part of singing clubs” or “cannot have their own garden.” The signs are not something one might particularly notice walking down the street, and like the signs, Jews often gave little importance to these laws until it was too late. Still, I am infuriated and find it insulting. All these Jewish German intellectuals failed to notice? It all seems so clear in retrospect! But who are we to judge?

 

 

March 10th 2008

 Soviet Memorial

The Soviet memorial makes me feel like I am back in Russia. I like that. It's huge and intimidating, like Russia. The soldier seems to be staring at you, talking to you. I like the fact that I can understand Russian, and that makes me feel closer to all those soldiers the monument is dedicated to. It sucks for Germany that they have to keep huge monuments like these for the army that defeated them, but they do deserve it after all. They are like this shamed child sitting in the corner...

 

 

Reichstag

The Reichstag is impressive. Really. I think, finally some of the old European architecture I like! But seeing the huge German flags makes me uncomfortable. Someone pointed out how the German flag and the EU flag were at the same height and how in the US the national flag always had to be higher. I could not imagine Germany saying that their flag should be higher than any other flags...

I get goosebumps thinking that Hitler most likely once stood on this exact same spot as I am now standing. The inscription “Dem Deutschen Volke” (To the German People) on the building seems... inappropriate after WWII. I feel how uncomfortable it must be for Germans to show any national pride after the war, but then again, that was only a very small part of their history. Very recent though.

The inside of the building is completely different. Very modern, a conscious decision to look forward, to the future, and not the past (that is the front, the inscription). The German flag is displayed here too but as a modern work of art. The politicians' seats are purple! Digital modern art is displayed on the walls.

A sign saying “Der Bevolkerung” (to the population) is such a nice way of contrasting the “Dem Deutschen Volke”. I love how modern these memorials are, and how creative.

The real jewel is the cupola.

So inviting, come look, come sit under the sky. I could see how it represents democracy in the sense that it is made of glass (transparent) and people are meant to participate, be engaged.

 

Burnt Books

The memorial to the burnt books is amazing. Just a clear glass on the floor of a big plaza and underneath... empty shelves. No big plaques. Emptiness.

 

Jewish Museum

The Jewish Museum's architecture is really interesting. I definitely feel weird walking on the slanted floors. My first impression is that I want to leave, I feel very uncomfortable. The garden of exile makes me feel very disoriented, and just like others, I am annoyed by the “kids” who are playing in it.

The Holocaust tower does make me feel rather hopeless. It is cold this time of year and it is so cold in here. The distant, tiny window is not enough. You wonder how anyone could survive for a day here, let alone months or years. Complete desperation.

Buenos Aires is listed in the axis of exile!

Walking on the metal faces feels wrong. It's not just the noise, but the actual stepping on people's faces. The noise does remind me of cattle cars, though, given the context of the museum and all.

The entire grim scenario of the basement does not go with the other two colorful, interactive and child-oriented floors. I don't feel identified with the depiction of Jews as Middle Eastern. I don't see myself as being Middle Eastern. Judaism, to me, means Europe. Yiddish, not Hebrew. And it's interesting because that must be exactly what Jews in Europe must have been thinking as they were being deported to the camps: “we... are German”. And as I think about the little signs on the contributions of prominent Jews (philosophers, scientists, etc.) to German culture I think, what IS European culture without the Jews? Beginning with Christianity and the Bible. A completely completely different picture.

 

March 11th 2008

 

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe does not work for me. I don't feel moved, I don't see what is Jewish about these columns. It's a beautiful sunny day out and I just want to sit on top of the columns and rest. I do like the way the ground sinks and goes back up. There are food stands all around the monument, like it's not even there, and young Germans walk around it with their food, like they're just crossing the street. I guess that says something. How bystanders ignored the Jews' murder. And though we read an explanation about the competition that led to this memorial, and all the thought that was put into it, I think those things don't matter if most people can't appreciate them. If most people will never read about them, about the significance of the number of columns, for example.

 

 

Holocaust Museum

The Holocaust museum underneath is nice. Not overwhelming, just a few families' stories. It focuses much more on individuals than on the big masses, which is much more the style of the Holocaust museum in DC. This one is not as graphic, there are no piles of shoes, no cattle cars. I see the “effectiveness” of both styles. Some things ARE similar, though. The testimonies, for example. I learn that Treblinka is “located on the Warsaw-Bialystok railway”. My grandmother is from Bialystok. She left a few years before the war... And it's weird because as soon as I turn I see Bialystok on the screen that talks about the different cities very briefly and then there's a new city and I wait for more than 20 minutes and Bialystok never comes back on. It's similar to the feeling of never knowing what would have happened to my grandmother if she had stayed. I never got to read what they said about her town.

I get to the last room and most of the group is waiting, done. But there's a database to look up names of Holocaust victims and I, being one of the only 2 Jewish people in the group, can think of a thousand names to look up. I want to know. I went to Jewish school all my life and I know so many families. But my last name comes first. I've never searched before and I'm scared of what I might find. Indeed, quite a few people with my last name, from Poland. It's weird but even online I've almost never found anyone with my last name who is not actually related to me in some way. It's not like the last names Cohen or Levin. These people could be related to me. Or they might not, which could also mean that the reason why there are so few Zegens left is because many died during the war. Either way I feel deeply touched by this information.

 

Neue Synagogue

I like this synagogue. I love cupolas in general. The Torah curtains, from 1895, which have German inscriptions in Hebrew letters, are interesting. They are a statement about assimilation, according to everyone. I thought of Yiddish. Yiddish, often, is exactly that: German written with Hebrew letters. Many words in Yiddish sound exactly the same as they do in German, so there would be no way of telling both languages apart if they were both spelled in Hebrew characters. Fine, these Jews did not speak Yiddish. Does that mean that they would not have known about the tradition, practiced in neighboring Poland, for example, of speaking a German dialect and spelling it like Hebrew? My great grandparents were born in Poland around that time and that is exactly what they and their parents did.

And I wonder about this because I can see German Jews spelling German in Hebrew, but I cannot imagine the same thing for Russian or Polish or almost any other language.

The “eternal lamp” that was found buried in cement in the synagogue is a real treasure. The Germans actually preferred to leave it there than steal it.

In the synagogue I hear a few Russians. I seem to be the only Jew I know who likes Russians, and Russian Jews. Poor people, seriously, they are looked down upon almost wherever they go: Israel, US, Western Europe. Later in our trip we'll hear this professor talk about the growing Russian Jewish community immigrating into Germany, and how safe it is to live there, and people asking these immigrants how they can go live in Germany after the Holocaust, etc., etc., etc. And you know what? I was thinking. It's not like they have a million choices. People usually go where they can find economic stability, and Germany is well-off and welcoming. I wonder if it hurts them to go back, asking for help/refugee status from that country. Russians, too, who fought against the Germans. Russian Jews.

 

March 12th 2008

Grunewald Train Memorial

The memorial by the German railroad acknowledging their role in the Holocaust is “great.” It's one of those good memorials that move me. And it's hard, to know that 60+ years before us, scared Jews were standing exactly where we are, not knowing what would happen to them, and being sent to their deaths. Seeing the actual platform makes it so real. I want to sit down there, and picture it all, and cry, but we're in a group and those things one must do by oneself, take the time. After 1943 the numbers of deportees get smaller and smaller... the job had been done.

 

 

Potsdam

This afternoon we met with the German students. Potsdam reminds me of Saint Petersburg. There, too, our university was a former palace. Everything was a palace in that city. The pastel colors are similar too, and the crappy weather. There even are Russian performers on the street singing typical songs.

The German students are so friendly!

 

 Germany

I am bothered by the fact that I am so quickly falling for this city and these people and this language... Apparently only now are Germans stereotyped as cruel, but before WWII they were known by their politeness, something I definitely notice.

 

March 13th 2008

Haberstadt

Haberstadt is amazing. So medieval-like. It doesn't feel like a Jewish town because I associate Jewish life with big cities. It also looks very German. Jews actually had to pay a tax for protection here! So ridiculous...

 

 

The Jewish cemetery in town shows that Jews were sort of wanted here (they paid taxes, etc), otherwise, preventing them from having their own cemetery would have been a good way of keeping the population down. But they always got the worst... the house at the back was used for executions.

 

The newest, second cemetery we visit is interesting because the front of the tombs is in Hebrew and the back is in German, containing just the most basic info for the German authorities. The years are in the Hebrew calendar format, though. Hahah, let the authorities figure it out.

The remains of the synagogue:

 

 

March 14th 2008

Ravensbrück Concentration Camp

It's raining now. The weather is terrible. Imagine being here in the middle of winter, very little clothes on, wet. Pregnant sometimes. Sometimes menstruating, at the beginning at least. Without any shoes.

We can't imagine. And I feel like I should, but I can't. Women from more than 14 countries ended up in this camp.

I feel uncomfortable with the idea of the female guards' houses being now used as youth hostels. I can't believe it. In the middle of a concentration camp?

Children of the SS used to go to school on the same street as the prisoners were brought in through...

Our guide correctly asked about memorials: what should one do about them? Because one needs to realize that not even the survivors can speak for those who were murdered and that they don't speak with a single voice.

One of the memorials at the camp is a wall full of women's pictures, and we were thinking that these women were looking into the eyes of the guards when they had these pics taken. They looked bad sometimes, they'd been beaten. Is it right for us to display their pictures in public like that?

The ovens are intact. I can't believe how “inefficient” they look. Only one person could fit at a time. But that means the people working there had to see their victims one by one, their faces, lift them up (if it wasn't Jews themselves working there, having to burn their friends' and relatives' bodies). Some Israeli students have left an Israeli flag there. Some think Israel was born out of those ashes, precisely. There are flowers all over the floor. I don't know what to do, how to pay my respects, I didn't bring any flowers.

Next to the ovens there's a mass grave and a plaque showing where the gas chambers used to be. My goodness, I'm standing right there.

It's so ironic because the view from this area is spectacular. A beautiful lake and a beautiful city on the other side. This is what these women saw before their deaths, probably. Germans living perfectly normal lives in their beautiful German town with a beautiful church. Just across the lake.

  

March 15th 2008

Topography of Terror

Again that feeling of “standing right there” where these murderers stood. But it's the end of our scheduled trip and we're all exhausted, we all want to get through this as soon as possible and go have some fun at the art fair. The fact that the pictures are in black and white, like Laura mentioned, makes it seem like it was all so long ago... Like a textbook. Remote. Like it could not happen again, like those things happened before. In the twentieth century. It's a dangerous thought.