Schlagwort: Democracy

My dear Jewish friend 20: D stands for Democracy

am von German Pastorin Allgemein2 Kommentare

D-Day and the European election – a covenant for democracy

The large, slim envelope brought quite official business into our home and now it was time to open it. June 6 was the perfect day to open my absentee vote. D-Day.

The day, when thousands of British, American and Canadian soldiers set ashore in Normandy, France to fight against the Nazi regime and free Europe from the grip of an evil dictator and his allegiance. Eighty years later I’d uphold firmly as a German citizen living in a free Europe D stands for Democracy.

Paul Dickson quotes different meanings for D-Day:

Many explanations have been given for the meaning of D-Day, June 6, 1944, the day the Allies invaded Normandy from England during World War II. The Army has said that it is “simply an alliteration, as in H-Hour.” Others say the first D in the word also stands for “day,” the term a code designation. The French maintain the D means “disembarkation,” still others say “debarkation,” and the more poetic insist D-Day is short for “day of decision.” When someone wrote to General Eisenhower in 1964 asking for an explanation, his executive assistant Brigadier General Robert Schultz answered: “General Eisenhower asked me to respond to your letter. Be advised that any amphibious operation has a ‘departed date’; therefore the shortened term ‘D-Day’ is used.”

Paul Dickson: War Slang. American Fighting Words & Phrases since the Civil War, Mineola, New York 1994, p. 146.

D for day.

D for disembarkation.

D for debarkation.

D for decision.

D for departed date.

D for day.

It was just passed midnight June 6, 1944. The bad weather over the English Channel had somewhat calmed down. The Allied commander-in-chief, US General Dwight D. Eisenhower, bid farewell to the men who would be risking their lives for democracy and peace in Europe:

Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

D-day statement to soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force, 6/44, Collection DDE-EPRE: Eisenhower, Dwight D: Papers, Pre-Presidential, 1916-1952; Dwight D. Eisenhower Library; National Archives and Records Administration.
 General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Order of the Day (1944), in: National Archives.gov

D for disembarkation

175,000 men disembarked the huge ships. They arrived with tanks weighing more than 30 tons and with artillery. With carbines, machine guns, pistols, bayonets. With flamethrowers and mortars, pipe bombs and hand grenades, sticky explosives and mines. Their task: to conquer the continent. Even in the 5th year of the global conflagration, Europe was still largely controlled from Berlin.

Landing at Utah Beach. (Source: Wikipedia.com)

D for decision

It must have been a horrible decision, but a utmost courageous act that lead to breaking the tides in favour of democracy. It was the only way to free Europe from the deadly grip of the murderous Nazi regime. Casualties were enormous on all sides. Allied casualties were documented for at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Horrible numbers. Those, who had to make this important decision have been aware of the deadlines the day would bring upon uncounted families.

American Cemetery overlooking Omaha beach. (Source: wikipedia.com)

D for departed date

Brigadier General Robert Schultz once said that any amphibious operation has a ‘departed date’ – the shortened term ‘D-Day’. I understand this precise military term, but as I hold the absentee vote for the European election in my hands, D-Day has a very different and utmost important meaning for me as a German citizen living and breathing freedom with every breath I take in a free Europe.

D stands for Democracy

It is a covenant we must take by voting. Uncounted have fought for our freedom. Todays D-Day reminds us of this covenant we must take. D for Democracy. For a future in a free world. I will therefore vote for a democratic party, which will make our voice heard.

As I took the large absentee paper into my hands and made my cross fear crawled up my spine as memories of times past flashed through my mind. Hitlers party started off as a very small organisation and in a landslide took over Germany and half of Europe with its hateful and murderous ideology.

1926 German regional elections in Saxony: 1,6 %

1928 German State elections: 2,6 %

1930 German State elections: 18,3 %

1932 German State elections: 33,1 %

1933 German State Elections: 43,9 %

(Hans-Jörg und Gisela Wohlfromm: Und morgen gibt es Hitlerwetter! Alltägliches und Kurioses aus dem dritten Reich, S. 142)

Presently, we have a right winged party called „Alternative für Deutschland“ (AfD). It started as a protest party in 2013. Only four years later they received seats in the Bundestag (Federal German Parliament). They are forcefully voicing and living out right extremist ideas in a democratic Germany. Presently, 15,7% of the German population would vote for them. I would be lying, if I wouldn’t say that I am scared. There was a landslide back that brought Hitler into power.

I will use the only power I hold in my hands: a vote for a democratic party. It is a covenant every German and European citizen must make as our freedom was bought through the lives of those setting ashore on the beaches of Normandy June 6, 1944. May their souls rest in peace as they have handed-off the baton of democracy to us.

D-Day stands for Democracy.

My dear Jewish friend 19: Important Alliances to combat Antisemitism and hate

am von German Pastorin Bayern, Germany1 Kommentar

The downpour of rain came steady and hard. As I excited the car and stepped on the sidewalk I pulled my Police cap as deep as possible into place and quickly made my way to the old church of St. Johannes in the center of Munich. Due to present renovations it was quite a challenge to find the entrance to this traditional Lutheran church, which was build in 1916. After placing my wet Police cap and jacket on the wardrobe I was warmly greeted by Dr. Philipp Hildmann, who would be inducted into his office as the director of the „Bayerisches Bündnis für Toleranz- Demokratie und Menschenwürde schützen“ (Engl.: Bavarian Alliance for Tolerance – Protecting Democracy and Human Dignity).

He had invited me to be part of the intercessory prayers at his introductory service on Dec 12. What an honour in times like these, where Antisemitic crimes are on the rise in Germany and around the world. Since the attack of the Hamas on Israel Oct 7 the unbelievable high number of 1100 incidents have occurred until Dec 21 in Germany (Source: Bundeskriminalamt). According to Holger Münch, the President of the Bundeskriminalamt the dimension in the area of ​​these crimes are new (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). He emphasized that Antisemitism increased on both the left and right spectrum, but was also imported. „Many people have come to our country from regions where Israel is seen as an enemy and where the idea prevails that Jews must be fought,“ said Münch (Source: Jüdische Allgemeine; translation MG). An important area to combat this terrible hate crime will therefore be education, where new members of our German society learn about our history and values, which have their highest expression in Democracy and human dignity.

The present developments show drastically how important it is to form strong alliances against Antisemitism, extremism and any form of hate. As a Police Chaplain involved in educating the next generations of police officers within the German Federal Police I hope to make a difference through the education I provide.

(left: Landesbischof Christian Kopp; right: Bishop Dr. Bertram Meier; photo: Philipp Hildmann)

As Philipp stood at the altar surrounded by our new Bishop Christian Kopp and the Roman Catholic Bishop Dr. Bertram Maier, numerous representatives of the churches, government and institutions, my heart stopped for a beat as I prayed for this courageous man, who is the face of one of the most important alliances in Germany. His task will be a hard one in these unbelievable difficult times, but we as his partners will stand strong together with him. We will carry him through in times of trouble and need.

(From left to right: Markus Rinderspacher, Vice President of the Bavarian Parliament; Miriam Groß, Police Chaplain German Federal Police; Dr. Philipp Hildmann; Bettina Nickel, Vice speaker of the Alliance for Tolerance; Photo: Philipp Hildmann)

The weather on this day might have been barren outside of the church, but within it was warm and welcoming. As I excited the old building and quickly made my way to the car through the continuing downpour I knew: Philipp might experience many a challenge and most likely countless rainy days, but the people, institutions and organisations of the Alliance will keep him and anyone secure as we move forward to combat Antisemitism, extremism and hate in any form.

(Liturgy written by Regional Bishop Dr. Dorothea Greiner)

My dear Jewish friend 16: delivering a promise bit by bit – combating Antisemitism and racism through education

am von German Pastorin Allgemein4 Kommentare

Tears ran down my cheeks. Hot and angry tears. It felt as if their trail was burning my skin. I remember well, when I had to break the news to you that I would be leaving the U.S. and returning to Germany. Our friendship was one of the most precious gifts I had been gifted with during our time in New York. Under your leadership we fed the hungry through the pantry of your synagogue and stilled the hunger of those, who had been hit hardest during the economic effects of the pandemic. It was on this day, that I promised to you that within my next call I would commit myself to fight Antisemitism and racism. I would infuse this commitment into the German Federal Police through education. Only a few months later, I started teaching young Police Cadets infusing the strong sense of commitment for Human rights, dignity and our German constitution, which was born as a democratic law out of the pain and death of millions.

Two years later, as I listened to the words of Dr. Borys Zabarko, my hand discreetly stroke my cheek down the same path the tears had taken over two years ago reminding me of the promise I had made to you. The auditorium was filled with 250 members of the German Federal Police. As Dr. Zabarko spoke about his experiences during the Holocaust, you could’ve heard a needle, if it would’ve dropped.

Dr. Zabarko had escaped the ghetto of Sharhorod as a child. After the Second World War he studied at the Chernivtsi University, and commenced his PhD at the Institute for History at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev, where he received a PhD in 1971. He dedicated his whole career to combating Antisemitism and researching on the disaster of the Holocaust. The number of books he has written is impressive and he is at the forefront of research of the Holocaust in the Ukraine, gifting generations with his knowledge and commitment to combat this terrible heresy, which has cost millions of people their lives and has brought suffering over generations.

It was a twist of historical irony that he as a Ukrainian Jew was standing in front of a German audience, speaking about the horrible things which had happened through Nazi-Germany and its executive authorities. Now he had to flee his own country finding refuge where the perpetrators and terrible deadly heresy of Antisemitism had once installed a brutal system of death and catastrophe.

As he talked about the deadly role the police during the Nazi dictatorship had played, I held my breath and tried to swallow away the tears – the same hot tears of grief I had felt back then when I broke the news to you. Dr. Zabarko spoke about the massacre of Babyn Yar as the site of the largest massacre carried out by Nazi Germany’s forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. It took place 29–30 September 1941, killing some 33,771 Jews in an industrial manner. He spoke about how the massacre was commenced with a mass ditch, in which line by line the victims fell through the hand of Sonderkommando 4a of Einsatzgruppe C, consisting of SD (Sicherheitsdienst) and SiPo (Sicherheitspolizei) men, the third company of the Special Duties Waffen-SS battalion, and a platoon of the No. 9 police battalion. As you can guess, a large number of these men had been police officers. While I glanced over the large number of listening police members and looked at the dark blue of my own police uniform, it felt as though not only the skin of my cheeks was set on fire. An important fire I hope others in the audience felt as well.

I am utmost blessed that the Leading Police Director understands my vision and calling. We share the same goal as we try to strengthen our democracy, standing up for human rights and combating Antisemitism, racism and any kind of exclusion through education and leading by example. There are so many obstacles in our way as we try to infuse these goals into the educational system of executive authority. Sometimes I am at the brink of giving up and the sacrifice of being ripped away from the comfort of our friendship seems to high of a cost as loneliness sometimes clouds my soul – but the shared goal of education within the German Federal Police and the promise I once made to you keep me going.

And I must admit: this remarkable day with Dr. Zabarko was in my eyes a living expression of the vision we are pursuing. It even found its outward expression as he signed the Golden Book of the City of Bamberg while Holocaust survivors, civil servants, politicians, and police officers were present.

I wish, you could’ve been here and experienced it first hand. I am delivering my promise to you bit by bit – with every new cadet being committed to combat Antisemitism, racism and other forms of hate. May it be a consolation across the miles as we are far apart, but united in heart and mind.

False messiahs, votes, and hopes for the future

am von German Pastorin AllgemeinHinterlasse einen Kommentar

A sigh of relief passed my lips as I opened my absentee ballot that had just come with our daily mail. It had been some journey to exercise the rights of my German citizenship: After applying in April the ballot finally arrived two weeks before the election. As I opened the grey envelope, perfect German structure greeted me while my mind wandered of to the consequences of my vote and that of 82 Million German citizens. Even though nobody really expected a political messiah, many of those near to me set their hopes on the main stream parties. And I must admit, the rather uneventful political campaign without any major scandals had a consoling effect on me. But these quiet and intellectual campaign trails have not always been part of Germany´s political makeup.

When Hitler headed for being reelected in November 1933 a incredibly accurate planned show was orchestrated by Hitlers Propaganda minister Goebbels. In many ways it had particularly similar elements of a boastful and arrogant attitude, which was exposed during the last US-American campaign for the oval office. The loud outward appearance was even called by some „American style“. Victor Klemperer diary entry from Nov 11, 1933 is a shocking and insightful reminder of this time:

„The excessive propaganda for the “ Yes“. On every business car, postal car and bicycle , at every house and shop window, on wide banners stretched across the street – everywhere slogans by Hitler and always „yes“ for peace. It is the most unbelievable of all hypocrisies. We want more soldiers to make the army to the militia and to blend with the million of SA [Sturmabteilung]. Parades and choruses until into the night, loudspeakers on the streets, music cars (with on the top mounted radios), cars like trams.

Yesterday from thirteen to two o’clock the „festive hour“. „In the thirteenth hour Adolf Hitler comes to the workers.“ Perfect the language of the Gospel. The Redeemer comes to the poor. And in addition the America-appearance. The sirens‘ haul, the minute of stillness […] A highly skilful, calmly spoken report on the disposition by Goebbels, and then about forty minutes of Hitler. A generally hoarse, overwhelmed, excited voice, wide passages in the vindictive tone of the preaching sectarian. Content: I know no intellectuals, citizens, proletarians – only the people. Why have millions of my enemies remained in the country? The emigrants are „rascals“ like the brothers Rasser. And a few hundred thousand rootless international – interjection: „Jews!“ – want to oppose millions of people. I only want peace, I have risen from the low people, I do not want anything for myself, I have three and a half years‘ full power and do not need a title. You must say yes for your sake. […] The man [Hitler] is a excessive enthusiast. And he hasn’t learned anything.“ (1)

As I started to fill out my absentee ballot, I couldn’t get my mind of the present difference of politics in both countries. Here was I in one of the greatest nations in the world casting my vote for the highest office in Germany – and in some ways things have been tossed upside down. My fear of seeing this nightmare happen again intensified significantly in the last weeks when hearing about the rise of right winged parties in the country of my upbringing. We may not have the choice of electing a „political messiah“ – and I am very honest: I do not hope, we will ever be blinded and lulled into disaster by a crazy and powerful politician! But by exersizing the rights of my citizenship in a democratic way, I will be able to be a small drop making a difference against any right winged tendencies.

(1) Victor Klemperer, Tagebücher (1033-1934), p. 67-68. Translation (MG)