Conclusions

The return to Dresden was certainly a surprising and emotional experience. I was pleased to learn parts of my history that filled gaps in my memory, for instance Regensburger Strasse, where I lived before we moved to Hensestrasse; and the fact that I attended the Jewish school at the old synagogue. I am still interested in knowing if in 1939 I left from the airport in Dresden or Berlin. I would still like to find an insignia from the "Wach- und Schliessgesellschaft."

I was most surprised by the openness of the people. The number of "Germans of good will" that I met, who openly acknowledge what happened and what their Grand-parents and Great-grandparents did, without apologizing, which would of course be impossible, and who spend time and effort that people remember and that it "never happen again". The people in Dresden, both City staff and volunteers went out of their way to be helpful. The mayor of Niederaula, his secretary and the two historians couldn't have been nicer. I was also surprised by the friendliness of the people. On several occasions both in Dresden and my previous visit to Tubingen and Heidelberg, ordinary Germans shared my café or restaurant table and we had a meaningful conversation. I was surprised at how honest and straightforward the two shopkeepers in Heidelberg shared their thoughts on Germany today.

That is not to say that all is heavenly in today’s Germany. Suzanne was disturbed by the way Dresden has been rebuilt to eradicate all signs of the February 1945 firebombing; and, of course the war. The brand-spanking new Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) the gold couldn’t be shinier, the pastels couldn’t be brighter, and it’s not often that you see an enormous church of brand-new stone. There are no pictures or notices of what the buildings looked like in, say, October 1990, the reunification of the two Germanys (known as Die Wende – the Turning or Change) The last time we were in Dresden in June 1992 the Frauenkirche had been left in ruins as a symbol of the terror of the war, with a plaque prominently explaining such. Reminding people not to forget.

Both Lilli and Frau Burgermeister Kogge are disturbed by the National Democratic Party, considered far-right and anti-Semitic, which holds seats in the City of Dresden and Saxony (State) governments. The Museum of the City of Dresden, which I did not see, has I’m told, almost nothing about the period 1933 to 1945!
(This is not true; see later entries from Dresden)

I am also troubled by the integration of the old East and West Germanys; or rather the lack thereof. After almost eight years there are still great differences. Wages and pensions in the former East are lower than in the former West. There are fewer cell-phones in the East than the West because they are too expensive for many people. And there are still 40,000 vacant dwellings in Dresden.

The German Countryside delighted me. On this trip I drove about 850 miles after leaving Dresden and marveled at beautiful vistas of vineyards, fields and forests ablaze with autumn colors. On the Autobahn I passed small red-roofed towns and villages that looked straight out of a storybook.It must also be said that all of my recent experiences in Germany have been in Southern and Southeastern Germany. None of this may apply to Berlin or Northern Germany! I feel sufficiently intrigued that I'm planning on spending two or three months in Germany next year! Not in Dresden, which I think would be too emotional; probably in Heidelberg. I'll also take the opportunity to look at Berlin and other parts of Germany. Is it a possibility that today's Germany is the safest place for a Jew to live? And can this Jew live comfortably in the Germany of today? At least for a couple of months!