Frohe Ostern!

School is on break for Easter, so I took the opportunity to do a little travelling in Europe.  My friend Shauni (another GAP from New Zealand) and I traveled to 7 cities in 10 days.  There was little sleep, lots of walking, and a ton of fun.

The highlight of my trip was our 2 days spent in Leipzig with Laura (the German GAP).  Laura asked months ago if I would like to spend Easter with her and her family, and I happily accepted the invitation.  I was really excited to spend time with Laura and her family and was also extremely nervous because her Mom, Oma, & Opa don't speak English.

Laura has been giving me German lessons since January - just for fun.  These lessons became very important very quickly when I decided to join her family for Easter.  My knowledge is very basic and I definitely don't know many verbs or vocab in general.  I was prepared with some basic phrases:

Danke - thank you
Bitte - please
Entschuldigung - excuse me (sorry)
Ja - yes

My adorable Kinder egg

I used these phrases over and over in Germany before we arrived in Leipzig, but for some reason I was so nervous to speak in front of Karola (mom).  The car ride from the bus stop to their house was silent in the back seat, but full of conversation between Laura and her mom.  Laura was wonderful and translated everything for us.  Then, Karola looked backward at me and asked me a question in German. I stared at Laura waiting for a translation, and then I realized that I knew exactly what she asked!  So I answered.  Laura's eyes lit up like a proud teacher.  It was that moment where I realized, I would be okay for the weekend and that I would be able to communicate.

Saturday was spent with Laura's Oma & Opa (grandparents).  We had a wonderful meal and some one-sided conversation (I understood very little without translation on this day).  Her grandparents were incredibly sweet and welcoming. We ate a wonderful meal, and had our Kinder eggs.  Then, I learned we would get to search for Easter baskets!  I wasn't expecting it at all, I mean I had my Kinder egg already!  My bag was labeled "Amerika" and Shauni's was labeled "New Zealand".  It was full of German chocolate and a pretty mug.  It was so thoughtful and sweet!

The next day we had another Easter with Laura's mom.  Again, we discovered that we would need to search for our basket as well as another gift.  I searched and searched. On the bookshelf. Behind the couch (I saw something but didn't think it was mine).  Behind the pictures. FOUND IT!  A pink basket full of chocolatey wonderfulness.  Shauni and I struggled with our second gift so we played hot and cold.  Went behind the couch and there it was!  I clearly didn't read very well the first time.

I am now the proud owner of a copy of Goethe's "Faust"!  I have the German on one side of the page and English on the other.  My work is cut out for me.

I am completely floored by the love and hospitality I was shown in Leipzig.  It was a wonderful holiday even through the misunderstandings and language barrier.

My Easter Love

Meeting Rudi...

Today, I met Rudi Oppenheimer.  Well, I didn't actually speak to him, but I listened.  Rudi is 84 years young.  Rudi is German.  He's also Jewish (by ancestry not religion).

Rudi was born in 1931 in Heidelburg, Germany.  He moved multiple times during the pre-WWII years.  Heidelburg to Berlin to London to Heemstade (Netherlands) to Naarden to Amsterdam.  He, along with his parents, older brother, and baby sister (with British citizenship - it's important) were eventually sent to a Transit Camp called Westerbork.

Most families only stayed days or weeks at Westerbork before they were moved East to Bergen-Belsen, Auschwitz, or other concentration camps.  The Oppenheimers stayed at Westerbork for 7 months, mostly due to baby Eve's British birth certificate.  The Oppenheimers became part of a group of Jews called "Exchange Jews".  My understanding of "exchange Jews" is a family that had one or more British or American born children who could then be exchanged for German citizens being held in Britain, if needed.  They were generally treated better than other Jewish families.  For example, the train that took the Oppenheimers and other exchange families to Bergen-Belsen was a regular transport train with seats instead of the cattle cars used for others.

For 70 minutes I sat captivated by Rudi and his story.  He lost both parents to illness in Bergen-Belsen and was taken on a train across Germany with his siblings 5 days before Belsen was liberated. Eventually he and his siblings were liberated and returned to the Netherlands.

Rudi will tell you that Eve's birth certificate saved their lives.  He will also tell you that he isn't religious, but for some reason "God still watches out for me."

I found that statement most interesting.  A self-proclaimed agnostic (he told us he wasn't religious but believed there was a God, of some kind) boldly claimed multiple times tonight that God watched out for him, took care of him, and other statements.

After hearing his story, it was time for questions.  I sat for 30 minutes before I finally got the courage to raise my hand. (I was in a room of 13 & 14 year olds)

Finally I was called on. "If you could share your story with the world leaders of today, what do you hope they would learn from it?"

 His answer - "Don't be a bystander." He told the room to speak up when we see something that isn't right.  He told the story of Jewish men with non-Jewish wives being imprisoned during WWII.  The women weren't having it so they protested outside of the jail.  Soon they were joined by many others and the Nazis let the Jewish men go.

One girl asked if he hated Germans.  (My friend Laura, the German GAP, was sitting near me) I glanced over to Laura, scared of his answer.  He  said that he hold nothing against the people who were born after the war.  They committed no transgressions.  He also said that he cannot forgive the Nazis, but   not because of hatred, because he felt it should be his parents' generation that did the forgiving, for they were affected far more than he was.

Today was an eye-opening day.  If I could tell Rudi one thing, I'd tell him I would try not to be a bystander.

~A

P.S. If you'd like to read more about Rudi's story check out his brother's book : From Belsen to Buckingham Palace by Paul Oppenheimer