The Tension

January 28, 2008 - 5:00 PM by

If you’re Jewish/Israeli, then sometimes when making friends with people hailing from Germany there’s palpable tension over…well you know. It’s the proverbial elephant in the room.

Not A Fish’s Imshin relays a story that captures that tension and some bubbling to the surface unexpected emotions in this entry. A share:
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RT has had a work assignment in Germany recently and he’s been over there a few times. Most recently there were some Poles there with him as well. Next week he’s going to Poland.

He says the Germans don’t talk about, well, you know what. He says he finds the Poles are far more open about our mutual past. Well, I guess this is understandable, all things considered.

We were talking about this, and then RT told me about something that happened a few years ago, when he was also on a work trip to Germany. A German colleague took him out to see the countryside, or something. They saw all sorts of castles and things. RT being interested in history asked the guy all sorts of questions, about what they were seeing and other things, but the guy wouldn’t answer. Eventually he turned to RT and said,”Look, RT, our history is not good, and I’d rather not talk about it.”

Go to the site to read the rest…

Tags: • Category: Blogging, History and Culture, Life 

Comments

2 Comments on The Tension

  1. Gliker on Mon, Jan 28th 2008 5:17 PM

    2. This is extremely powerful.

    It makes me think more of my fellow man.

    It is over.

    Never Again.

  2. Rachel on Mon, Jan 28th 2008 9:16 PM

    3. I’ve been to Germany loads of times and found the people to be very warm and friendly and the country is fabulous with lots of interesting history. Mind you, I’m not Jewish so I don’t have the same associations as a lot of Jewish people may have about Germany but even so – I’d urge anyone to go there for a visit.

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