This morning, Justin Jacobs, a fellow Pittsburgher and an associate editor at The Jewish Chronicle, interviewed me about a neat summer experience I had. Which made me realize that I hadn’t written anything so “official” about it yet. So, what better forum than New Voices? I’ll break it down like this:
Who: Me (a creative writing major and religious studies minor at Carnegie Mellon) traveled with 24 other amazingly gifted, smart, conscientious people aged 19-28. Some were undergraduates, some were entering graduate school, some were in the “real world” (read, work force), and some were still figuring out what to do next. They came from all over the States (plus one Canadian!)–a high concentration were from New York. (I was the only one from Steel City). Read more…
What: (the big question, right?) We were selected by a program called Germany Close Up, in conjunction with the American Jewish Committee. The tag line of Germany Close Up is “American Jews Meet Modern Germany.” And with the exception of our Canadian friend, the tag line is pretty accurate. The program aims to expose American Jews to the new, modern, ever-changing Germany while breaking previous stereotypes and misconceptions of the country.
What, continued: One day of remembrance (visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp an hour’s bus ride from Berlin). The rest of the trip was filled with diplomatic, political, and cultural activity (lots of tours, lectures, meetings with the Federal Foreign Office, Israeli Embassy, and the German-Israeli Society).
Where: Mostly in Berlin; we took a two-day trip to beautiful Heidelberg and Worms (home to the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe). We stayed in a lovely hotel right in the Jewish Quarter in Mitte, a stone’s throw from the gorgeous Centrum Judaicum, which formally houses the program and serves as a home base.
When: Our trip was in early August, for about ten days, but the program runs trips throughout the year. (Tip: Berlin is better when it’s warm. Or so I hear.)
Why: This question is larger than a short blog post can answer, but I’ll touch on a few things: Several people on our trip have German ancestry or members of their families who are survivors. Germany may have been a place that their parents or grandparents discouraged them from visiting or said negative things about. Conversely, other people may recoil slightly when they think of Germany and don’t want to travel there because of the not-so-ancient-but-brutal history (I fall into this latter category). This trip was a chance to really educate ourselves about how far Germany has come since the darkest period in their history. For some people, it was a culmination of their experience as an AJC Goldman Fellow.
How: Through the work of Dr. Dagmar Pruin, our guides Lena & Uli, and administrative staff such as Itay, the entire program really opened my eyes to the immense of amount of work that Germany has done to educate, remember, and memorialize such a tragedy. I cannot speak for everyone in my group, but I can say that I flew back to the States with a much higher opinion of such a multi-layered, diverse, complex country.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, feel free to leave a comment and check out Germany Close Up’s programs page.
