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Teetering and tears: Berlin Bulletin No. 227, October 11, 2024
Despite all the many years, those who hated the GDR still hate it today. Indeed, they seem to fear it, and continue almost daily to revile its memories—like kicking an old horse cadaver which might yet bite or strike out with a hoof or two.
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Disgusted voters: Berlin Bulletin No. 226, September 24, 2024
Most worried of all are the people in eastern Germany, the one-time German Democratic Republic founded so hopefully almost exactly 75 years ago, October 7, 1949, and buried—triumphantly for a large number—41 years later, on October 3, 1990.
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East German election trimmings: Berlin Bulletin No. 225, September 5, 2024
Is the AfD a fascist party? Björn Höcke, its boss in Thuringia, one of its three best-known national leaders and its main rabble-rouser, has never concealed his admiration for Germany’s days of swastika glory.
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Squaring circles for peace and war: Berlin Bulletin No. 224, July 11, 2024
One can hate or admire any of the gentlemen now involved [in the push for peace in Ukraine]; I would endorse Satan himself if he could help end this God-awful war and move towards the urgently-needed peace in the area—and elsewhere.
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Germany and Netanyahu: Berlin Bulletin No. 223, June 7, 2024
Far from water-logged Bavaria, immensely worse destruction is bloodily wrecking two million lives, and with Germany, though so distant, deeply involved. Of course I mean Palestine, especially Gaza. For decades the media has distorted or ignored what has been happening there. After October 7th ignoring it was no longer possible, here or anywhere.
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Humboldt and Gaza: Berlin Bulletin No. 222, May 4, 2024
It was May 10th in Germany’s terrible year 1933, Hitler had been in power for hardly three months, when students and staff emptied the university libraries of forbidden books and threw them, an estimated 20,000 books by over a hundred authors, into the flames of a giant bonfire.… No books were burned this time in early May. But there were ironic parallels, some all too alarming!
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From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee: The Experiences and Reflections of an American Communist in East Germany
In this interview with Zhao Dingqi, Victor Grossman reflects on his life as an American communist in East Germany.
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Taurus and the bullfighters: Berlin Bulletin No. 221, March 23, 2024
Weapons, weapons, weapons—the more the better! With ever louder talk about “the foe” and “protective measures”, as if Putin were amassing troops or maneuvering warships along German borders—instead of just the opposite taking place in the Baltic and Lithuania…The blitzkrieg-laden spirit of 1941 Germany is all over the media.
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Split on the Left: Berlin Bulletin No. 218 – November 21 2023
Is it a tragedy or a new hope? After months, in fact years of inner-party squabbling in Germany’s LINKE party (The Left), the die has been cast, the Rubicon crossed, and Sahra Wagenknecht, with nine other Bundestag deputies, has quit the party and announced their decision to found a new party in January.
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Historic events past and present: Berlin Bulletin no. 217
Again the USA marked Veterans’ Day. Now all leading German parties also want such a “Veteranentag”—to honor all those past patriots who wore uniforms, voluntarily or not, and certainly to inspire many more reluctant young men or women to put on army boots and shoulder arms.… Not so many may recall that the earlier “Armistice Day” marked the end of World War One.
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Gaza and the world: Berlin Bulletin no. 26
If I were in Israel today I might well have fears from above, but immensely worse ones if I were in Gaza. Or the West Bank. As for Trump, I do still have fears of a come-back, despite his legal troubles. But my fears for world peace: are they unfounded, perhaps nightmare products of an upset stomach?
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Othello and the War: Berlin Bulletin, September 11, 2023
The war in Ukraine, a horrific tragedy for the people of that unhappy country, fateful as well for many young Russians and potentially menacing for all the world, with burnished weapons of every size and destructive power waiting in silos or submarines for a slip, a blunder, a provocation.
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Schism and Faschism: Berlin Bulletin no: 214, August 16, 2023
Again Victor Grossman turns to his faded history books, and to the uprisings—and then the defeat of divided leftists between 1919 and 1933. Where today is the LINKE, the party of peace, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, socialism? It is in a crisis!
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A Patriot’s Fourth of July: Berlin Bulletin No. 213
Despite all doubts, despite fearful weaponry, at home or abroad, can we still call ourselves patriotic? In fact, is that a good thing to be?
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Brawling on the brink: Berlin Bulletin no. 211, June 7, 2023
“NATO—the U.S.-dominated global war machine—whose policy is ‘full dominance spectrum,’ contrary to its claims, is not a defensive organization. Its purpose has been to act as an instrument for U.S. world domination and to prevent all challenges to U.S. hegemony.” —Mairead Maguire
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Poetry politics and war: Berlin Bulletin no. 210, May 3, 2023
The fearful destruction, the displacement of families, above all the killing and maiming must be deplored, condemned and brought to an end. But the underlying reasons for this terrible war, concealed in the media, must also be mercilessly examined, regardless of well-orchestrated accusations of “Putin-friendship” or “left-over allegiance to a past Soviet Russia”.
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Child’s play?: Berlin Bulletin 209, March 26 2023
I recall a circle game from my childhood; after each round another chair was removed, leaving one more child out. We called it “Going to Jerusalem.” Last week Israeli boss Netanyahu arrived FROM Jerusalem. After two days he was out of the Berlin circle—one day too early.
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Despair and Joy: Berlin Bulletin 208, February 28, 2023
Were any flags of sympathy displayed when the people of Serbia, Iraq or Afghanistan were bombed? When drones exploded on hospitals and wedding processions—were there also calls for tribunals against Bush—or Obama?
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Animal crackers: Berlin Bulletin 207, February 5 2023
“Hey”, squeaked one furry lemming to another (in lemming-lingo, of course). “I saw you trying to slip away from the crowd! Do you want to betray us good lemmings. Maybe you’re a fox-lover, even a wolf-lover. You’d better keep in line till we reach our proper goal.” As lemming-lovers sadly know, that goal could be over the cliff into the sea.
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Blunders – Splits – War
Today the Linke is tragically split, on both political approaches and personalities.… [M]ost worrisome is the split about the present war. Some in the Left downplay the role of NATO, call for total condemnation of Russian imperialism and total military support for the Ukraine, in agreement with most media positions.