Living History

SO, WE TRIED TO KILL ALL THE WORLD'S JEWS AND WE WILL NEVER FORGET IT!! This is not history in an unread dusty textbook. Rather, this is the living history of a nation that lost its way once and seeks stability, seeks an identity other than that of pariah. How do you go forward without risking repeating old mistakes, old patterns? This is the eternal question in Germany and one experiences the presence of this question through the architecture, the placards explaining this or that former national socialistic court, or other such infamous (beruchsichtigt) place. For example, many people, many Germans, are not aware of the meaning of the little brass squares that are in front of buildings all over the city. These squares bear the names of Jewish holocaust victims who lived in the buildings where the squares are placed. I guess, like everything, one gets accustomed to seeing these in front of one's home. It nevertheless amazes me, these little brass squares. It remains a fair question, has Germany, have the German people really learned the lessons of WWII and the Third Reich? I have to say, based upon my experience in Berlin, yes. Although I continue to hear rumors of the neo-Nazis who live in various parts of the city, I have, fortunately, neither seen them nor felt their presence. They do not exert a great influence on the city.