Two Weeks

So I'm finally getting this up and running with less than two weeks to go before the trip (whoops).  Before I leave, I'll be posting information about the program along with details of my family history as I gather them.  Once I get to Berlin, I'll hopefully be able to post every day with reflections and such.   I'll post the schedule as well when I know a little bit more, but I do know that we'll be making some day trips out of the house we'll be staying in (Haus Schwanenwerder).

Here's the general gist of the program and why I'm going (as excerpted from a kind of cheesy letter I sent out to some local organizations):

I have recently been invited to participate in a program called “One by One” which seeks to bring together the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and the grandchildren of perpetrators in a constructive dialogue. Through this experience, held in Germany this July, each side can explore the distinctive history and perspective of the other. This is the first year the program has been open to the third generation after the Holocaust, or “3Gs,” as we’re called; I’m honored to have the opportunity to engage in something so unique and life changing.

In this program, I, along with other 3Gs from across the country, would spend five days in a house outside Berlin with our German counterparts. We would participate in facilitated discussions and guided exercises, but we’d also be able to get to know each other personally as we share meals and spend time together. 

My grandma has always been the image of quiet strength in the face of adversity, and she has always been clear about the fact that she has forgiven the actions of those who carried out the Holocaust; she is the reason I feel so connected to this element of my family’s past.  As a junior studying at Boston University School of Education, I plan to enhance and enrich the currently available Holocaust education curricula; my target demographic is urban youth, especially in Boston, to whom my personal history is foreign, intangible, and, at times, unbelievable. This program would be an unparalleled experience that could inform not only my personal life and faith, but my future teaching as well.

So, that's it.  Two weeks from now, I'll be in Berlin, in a house with some 2Gs, a few other 3Gs, and some participants from the German perspective as well. 


Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more.


ARL