Contrary to popular belief, I am not a Nazi. Well, some may argue that I get a little persnickety about sitting at a square or rectangular table over a circular table at a restaurant and can, at times, cause a small scene when communicating my preference; however, that is more of a matter of anxiety, not wanting to be a control-freak. And in any case, for me, Nazi does not mean a person who wishes to unnecessarily overly control things or other people. Rather, a Nazi is someone who believes in Nationalism as a valid reason for creating and destroying nations, and giving absolute validity and credibility to this idea that everyone who has the right to belong to a nation must comply with an agreed upon criteria of arbitrary characteristics that define's one national identity (e.g., religion, race, ideology, hair color, etc.).
That being said, I find it strange that young Arab men ask me what I think of Adolf Hitler. Usually, this question is prompted after said person learns that I claim Swiss-German origin or that I used to live in Austria or that I can speak some German. This question makes me uneasy because I fear that I'm being lured into an Israel v. Palestine trap and may have to endure my interlocutor praise Hitler for 'ridding the world of Jews' (a conversation that did happen to me one time). In another case, a former student felt that Hitler was an admirable leader because he was "a strong man who knew what he wanted," and was only sharing with me his admiration of Hitler because I was from his [Hitler's] people. The fact that this student was making this YOUR people association reminded me of elementary school in the two-room schoolhouse one winter when the teacher for 2-4 grades had us read Snow Treasure, a story about these Norwegian kids who helped smuggle gold bars for the opposition during WWII. Another boy in the class, who had heard me say with pride the year before that my family was German, said to me in class one day, as we were drawing our interpretations of how we imagined scenes from the book: "You're a Nazi." Even at 8 years old, I felt a sense of immense shame, and I, for the first time, doubted the integrity of my family. If we were Nazis, would I have to start hating people? I didn't know any Jews, but would I need to start hating them?
In a recent conversation with a group of male students this week, H (after learning my family's genealogy) asked me, "Miss, what do you think of Hitler?"
Me: Well, you have to understand that at the time, Germany was dealing with economic problems after WWI. Suddenly, here is this guy [Hitler] telling the German people that the reason for their economic problems are foreigners, Jews, etc.
H: So he kill anyone who isn't like him.
M: Well, in a way. But there's this idea called Nationalism. Do you know Nationalism?
H and other students: No, Miss.
M: Well, it comes from nation, which is country.
Students: Like nationality.
M: Related. The idea is that a nation has people who have similar ideas, cultures, beliefs, history, etc. Some people think, 'Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a place where everyone thought the same as us? Wouldn't it be great if everyone believed the same thing? Wanted the same thing? Wouldn't life be simpler? We would be able to work so much better as a country if these things were were true.'
Students start nodding their heads.
M: But that's all an idea (I point to the temple of my forehead). It's not reality. In reality, you cannot control how people think. You cannot control 100% how people feel (I point at my heart) or what they want. We cannot make everyone the same.
They get my point and seem to be satisfied with my response. They make a point of letting me know that they understand that Hitler would have killed them, too, if they had been in Germany during his reign.
In nearly 30 years, WWII will have celebrated a 100th anniversary of remembrance. I wonder if by that time whether Germany and all its children that claim a German heritage will finally be forgiven for the crimes against humanity by one man with a misguided mission. I pray that we can be rid of this power monger and Jew-hating stereotype that acts as a shadow to our heritage.
The picture used in this post is "The Power and the Dishonesty" from cormandel.wordpress.com
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