Another Testimony About Israeli Experiences in Germany

The experiences of Shahak Shapira as a Jew/Israeli in Germany adds another testimony to the hardships and challenges of Jewish life in this country. As he landed in Laucha, in Saxony a province whose far-right sympathies are finally acknowledged on a wider scale, together with his younger brother and his mother, he only had the experience of the settlement of Oranit where he grew up.

However, through his family stories he was relatively aware of what to expect: his grandfather on his father side, Amitzur Shapira, was a victim of the terrorism attack during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. 

With a tone full of humour and sarcasm, Shapira accounts about his encounters with the 'brown' guys. Encounters not always innocents, as his brother will get to the court against one of them. Shahak himself is attacked by antisemites in Berlin this time on 2015 New Years' Eve. 

Unfortunately this is a reality for way too long: antisemitism in schools, extreme right as a reality of the everyday life in some parts of Germany, attacks against Jews. If the situation as such cannot be changed ovenight, at least documenting it will offer a proof that not everyone stayed idle and did nothing at all.

Wo bist Du, Motek?

For more or less clear reasons, I avoided this book for quite a long time, as I had a bad thought that in fact it is a book about fantastic Israeli life in Berlin, far away of that...and this...and that...About how beautiful and free and attractive Germany is compared to the realities back home. Nothing bad with the freedom of choosing your own country, but expat exhibitionism in this case may reach some levels close to the kitsch. So, again, I avoided the book.

But at the end of the last year I changed my mind and ordered a copy from the local library. The book is available only in the German version and it is a good and quality writing. More than a careful account of adventures in Berlin - living in this city is an adventure anyway - the book is the story of connecting with the German roots, reading old family diaries and tracing down less known personal histories. After the dark nostalgic episodes of the lecture of the family stories, the 'balagan' of the daily life and journalistic requests from Israel are welcomed encounters. From hysterical laughing to tears of regret and inter-religious passions, this book is an interesting read, outlining episodes of Jewish history in Germany. It is worth reading if interested to know the old and new Germany and its Jewish histories.