Dr. Folke Bernadotte 🇪🇺2/
I live in Germany. I’m a Catholic convert. My life is rooted in the "Old World." When I hear these stories, there is a narrative of inevitable departure—the idea that Europe was a dead end and Israel was the only answer. But for me, the pull is different.
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I just want a normal life in Germany. It feels like an unpopular thing to say in the context of this history, but it’s the truth. And historically, I’m not alone. Before 1939, the idea that every Polish Jew was a Zionist is a bit of a myth.
I just want a normal life in Germany. It feels like an unpopular thing to say in the context of this history, but it’s the truth. And historically, I’m not alone. Before 1939, the idea that every Polish Jew was a Zionist is a bit of a myth.
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Poland was home to millions who weren’t looking for an exit. There were the Bundists (who believed in "Hereness"), the assimilationists, and the professionals who saw themselves as purely European. They loved their cities. They weren't all "packing their bags" in their hearts.
Poland was home to millions who weren’t looking for an exit. There were the Bundists (who believed in "Hereness"), the assimilationists, and the professionals who saw themselves as purely European. They loved their cities. They weren't all "packing their bags" in their hearts.
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The Holocaust created a massive rupture. For those who went to Israel, the "European experiment" had failed. Their stories reflect that trauma—the feeling of being betrayed by their neighbors. In that light, Zionism wasn't just politics; it was survival.
The Holocaust created a massive rupture. For those who went to Israel, the "European experiment" had failed. Their stories reflect that trauma—the feeling of being betrayed by their neighbors. In that light, Zionism wasn't just politics; it was survival.
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But what about those of us who stay? Or those of us who find a different spiritual or cultural path within Europe? Choosing to be Catholic in Germany with this background feels like a quiet act of reclamation. It’s a refusal to let the rupture be the final word.
But what about those of us who stay? Or those of us who find a different spiritual or cultural path within Europe? Choosing to be Catholic in Germany with this background feels like a quiet act of reclamation. It’s a refusal to let the rupture be the final word.
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Is it possible to honor the memory of those who left while asserting that "here" is still home? I think so. Living a "normal life" in Germany isn't a denial of history—it’s a different way of carrying it. 🇩🇪✨ #Reflections #Germany #Catholicism #JewishHeritage
Is it possible to honor the memory of those who left while asserting that "here" is still home? I think so. Living a "normal life" in Germany isn't a denial of history—it’s a different way of carrying it. 🇩🇪✨ #Reflections #Germany #Catholicism #JewishHeritage
Captain Jack Sparrowyou mean, they're pissed off at the genocide currently being committed by the israeli state in their names?
#Gaza #Gazagenocide
#israelterroriststate #NetanyahuWarCriminal
@Captain_Jack_Sparrow I hear you. I’m deeply critical of current Israeli policy and the devastation in Gaza. While I’m cautious with the term "Holocaust" given its specific historical weight for my family—preferring the lens of war crimes—my post was about identity. I believe our home can be here in Europe, not just in nationalism. My life in Germany is my way of carrying that history
I didn't say Holocaust, I said genocide, which is exactly what it is, plus ethnic cleansing and warcrimes in the West Bank.
Plus a new ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Southern Lebanon, plus an illegal war on Iran. Plus the new act for executing Palestinians held in israeli death camps, without charge.
btw, I do sympathise with you regarding the Holocaust committed by Germany on Jewish people in the 1930's and 1940's and I am not "antiSemitic".
@Captain_Jack_Sparrow I appreciate the clarification. Whether the term is genocide or war crimes, the level of civilian suffering and the current policy are, to me, indefensible. My point is precisely that: because I feel European and live here, I don’t feel that the actions of a state thousands of miles away should define my identity or my heritage. I’m looking for a way to honor the past without it being tied to a nationalist project I don't support.
Thanks for your explaination.
Fouad@folkebernadotte25 @Captain_Jack_Sparrow
"because I feel European and live here, I don’t feel that the actions of a state thousands of miles away should define my identity or my heritage."
I think what you are trying to say is you are not a zionist.
Well done.