Monday, October 30

Our trip began with a walking tour that took us from the hotel, by the Neu Synagogue, through the Brandenberg Gate, to the Reichstag, where we met Arne Behrensen, Research Assistant for MdB Kerstin Muller (Foreign Policy Spokesperson for Alliance 90/The Green Party). The Reichstag is as impressive a legislative building I have ever seen -- if not the very finest. I have yet to visit a capitol building that recognizes its history -- good and bad -- and seeks to move forward in a unified way. The Nazis burned it down, the Allies attacked it during World War II, and the East Germans abandoned it as the seat of their "legislature." And yet today, after the 1991 decision to transfer the Capitol from Bonn to Berlin, the Reichstag has been restored, updated, and beautified by Sir Norman Foster. The interior is unambiguously modern and austere, and the restored dome offers a stunning view of the Berlin cityscape.


During its renovation, the construction crews uncovered graffiti from Soviet soldiers (and a few Americans) on the ground floor. The architect decided to preserve the grafitti and bullet holes as a reminder for those who pass by. Behrenson also showed us another monument to the past that lays on the floor below -- a room filled with copper drawers for each former and present member of the Bundestag, including Nazis and Adolf Hitler, whose name is scratched out. We took an elevator up to the level where the political parties convene -- and party they must do! On this floor that hosts the party conference and press rooms, we discovered at the very center, butressing the dome and a view into the Assemby Chamber, stood two stainless steel bars that serves members of the Bundestag and their colleagues. I wouldn't be surprised if their parties, though representing a more diverse range of viewpoints, were less polarized than ours...


From there we stopped by the expansive Memorial to the Slain Jews of Europe, which lays within steps of the Reichstag and the future location of the United States Embassy. Unfortunately, we did not have much time to spend at this spot. Nevertheless, I could tell that its design -- rising gray slabs that converge in the center -- convey the massive scale of the Nazi "Final Solution," the gradual steps leading to its implementation, and one's ability to get lost in the systematic chaos.

We then feasted on a delicious vegetarian lunch at the AJC office, where Diedre Berger and Maren Qualmann entertained our questions and introduced us to their staff. We learned about their programs, which range from teaching democracy, multiculturalism, and tolerance in their "Hands Across the Campus" Program to their efforts at combatting anti-Semitism. They also confront the challenges of improving German-Israeli relations and integrating the Jews from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, who represent the majority of Jewish Germans and face numerous difficulties being spread out across the country (the German goverment -- learning perhaps from the Turish immigrant experience -- decided to disperse them across the country to force assimilation, without considering their needs to form even the most basic Jewish communities). The fact that most of the employees in the office, inlcuding the Program Director, were not Jewish, caught me by surprise and encouraged me by proving that there are Gentiles who care about Jews, in spite of our perceived sense of influence and security.

Immediately following this meeting, we returned to American soil for a meeting at the United States Embassy. It took us a while to proceed through their fortified entrance, and once we made it through, we were warmly welcomed by the diplomats. During our time together, which they generously extended, we learned about their experiences in Germany as well as their insights from veteran careers in the Foreign Service. John Baumen, Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs contested the notion that our "relations were lousy under Schroeder, and now wonderful under Merkel." He suggested that although our heads of state did not get along, our governments did and they worked closely together. He also pointed to the German troop presence in Afghanistan, which is only second to the United States', and now responsible for NATO command in the country's northern parts. I asked him about the closure of United States military bases in Germany, and he commented that this dramatic shift in US troops is dramtic in scale and on schedule. One common response he has received from Germans -- contrary to what we might have heard during the Cold War -- was: "You arent punishing us for not supporting the Iraq War by removing the military bases?"

Our day concluded my journalists over a delicious Middle Eastern dinner. (Un)fortunately, no journalists sat at my table, so I spent much of the time conversing with two of my closer friends from the trip -- David Kipp and Jordan Toplitzky. After we proceeded to debate a number of topics (the usual them vs. me) and drink, I met Jason Isaacson, the AJC's Director of Government and International Affairs. We discussed his trip to Egypt, which was covered in this blog here. As our group petered out, Daniel Inlender, Chair of ACCESS Los Angeles, and I joind the restaurant's Israeli-Arab owner in a friendly conversation (in both English and Hebrew) over sweet apple tobacco and nargila. It was the perfect cap to a stimulating day!