My Heritage Part II: I Bet I know What You're Thinking...
We’re going to play a little game here. I’m going to write a word and you are going to remember the first thing that comes to mind. I have a feeling you are thinking of one of two things. Ready?
Germany.
Let me guess. You were thinking of either beer or the Nazis. It could have been the swastika, or Adolph Hitler, or the Holocaust, or some variant, but essentially I’d bet that a high majority of people reading this thought first of the years between 1933 and 1945.
I have ancestors from Germany. They were from Heidelberg and Stuttgart. Every one of them came to this country before World War One. I am very proud of my German heritage. I only wish I knew more about it.
My wife is also of German heritage. In fact, her mother was born and grew up there. She is from Erfurt, a town rich in history – a town that saw, as did my mother-in-law firsthand, the agonies of Communism. Erfurt is in the east part of Germany.
Over the years she has told me stories of living in Germany during that time and the oppression and fear she always felt. In addition, she felt firsthand the horrors of World War II. Her father was a German soldier. He was killed in battle on the eastern front.
She told me of the devastation in Germany after the war, and the difficulties her mother had raising children in a war-torn and oppressed country.
Every time I hear her stories, it gets me thinking. I am an American. Am I, therefore, responsible for the thousands of civilians murdered in Iraq because of this unjust war? How about my parents and grandparents – are they responsible for the victims of the bombings of Tokyo and Dresden? How about the atomic bombs?
I guess there is something wonderfully appropriate that when I think of my German heritage I think of larger philosophical questions. Germany, after all, has a long history of great thinkers, great philosophers and pioneers in education and the social sciences.
We are planning my first trip to Germany (Claudia has been several times). I am so excited. We will see both Erfurt and Heidelberg. My goal is to be a sponge. I want to learn as much as I can.
By the way, if you were thinking of beer, you have excellent taste.
Germany.
Let me guess. You were thinking of either beer or the Nazis. It could have been the swastika, or Adolph Hitler, or the Holocaust, or some variant, but essentially I’d bet that a high majority of people reading this thought first of the years between 1933 and 1945.
I have ancestors from Germany. They were from Heidelberg and Stuttgart. Every one of them came to this country before World War One. I am very proud of my German heritage. I only wish I knew more about it.
My wife is also of German heritage. In fact, her mother was born and grew up there. She is from Erfurt, a town rich in history – a town that saw, as did my mother-in-law firsthand, the agonies of Communism. Erfurt is in the east part of Germany.
Over the years she has told me stories of living in Germany during that time and the oppression and fear she always felt. In addition, she felt firsthand the horrors of World War II. Her father was a German soldier. He was killed in battle on the eastern front.
She told me of the devastation in Germany after the war, and the difficulties her mother had raising children in a war-torn and oppressed country.
Every time I hear her stories, it gets me thinking. I am an American. Am I, therefore, responsible for the thousands of civilians murdered in Iraq because of this unjust war? How about my parents and grandparents – are they responsible for the victims of the bombings of Tokyo and Dresden? How about the atomic bombs?
I guess there is something wonderfully appropriate that when I think of my German heritage I think of larger philosophical questions. Germany, after all, has a long history of great thinkers, great philosophers and pioneers in education and the social sciences.
We are planning my first trip to Germany (Claudia has been several times). I am so excited. We will see both Erfurt and Heidelberg. My goal is to be a sponge. I want to learn as much as I can.
By the way, if you were thinking of beer, you have excellent taste.
posted by E-Luv at 8:52 AM
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