Writing for Al-Hayat, Europe-based scholar M0hamad Amir Nasher Alneam contrasts theplights of two fleeing peoples — 80 years apart — at the hands of their own
governments.
In the late
’30s, specifically after March 1938, a train crossed Germany and Austria on its
way to the exiles of this earth. With the successive voyages of this train, the
number of the fleeing passengers it carried swelled — passengers who ended up
refugees in all the corners of the world. Germans escaping Germany; Austrians
escaping Austria; and Polish escaping Poland.
’30s, specifically after March 1938, a train crossed Germany and Austria on its
way to the exiles of this earth. With the successive voyages of this train, the
number of the fleeing passengers it carried swelled — passengers who ended up
refugees in all the corners of the world. Germans escaping Germany; Austrians
escaping Austria; and Polish escaping Poland.
The great
German writer Thomas Mann, a Christian, was among the escapees, as was the
prominent Austrian Jewish literary figure Stefan Zweig, who wrote: “as the
train crossed the border, I knew, like the patriarch Lot in the Bible, that all
behind me was dust and ashes, the past transformed into a pillar of bitter
salt.”
German writer Thomas Mann, a Christian, was among the escapees, as was the
prominent Austrian Jewish literary figure Stefan Zweig, who wrote: “as the
train crossed the border, I knew, like the patriarch Lot in the Bible, that all
behind me was dust and ashes, the past transformed into a pillar of bitter
salt.”
Zweig
related further how at the news of his mother’s death shortly after his escape,
he felt neither shock nor grief — rather something akin to peace, as she was
now safe from danger and suffering. His mother had always enjoyed a daily
strenuous walk, but now at the late age of 84, she had become unsteady on her
feet and needed at times to rest on a street bench or in a pubic garden —
something she no longer was allowed to do since the Nazis forbid Jews from
sitting on public seats. Zweig admitted: “It is fortunate that my mother has
been spared this cruelty and humiliation forever.”*
related further how at the news of his mother’s death shortly after his escape,
he felt neither shock nor grief — rather something akin to peace, as she was
now safe from danger and suffering. His mother had always enjoyed a daily
strenuous walk, but now at the late age of 84, she had become unsteady on her
feet and needed at times to rest on a street bench or in a pubic garden —
something she no longer was allowed to do since the Nazis forbid Jews from
sitting on public seats. Zweig admitted: “It is fortunate that my mother has
been spared this cruelty and humiliation forever.”*
The stories
of the train passengers and the reasons that led them to board it, as well as
their subsequent futures, have been documented in film archives, literary texts
and testimonies from that period. No one better than Stefan Zweig could tell
the tales of those who escaped and relate the circumstances that led to their
voyages:
of the train passengers and the reasons that led them to board it, as well as
their subsequent futures, have been documented in film archives, literary texts
and testimonies from that period. No one better than Stefan Zweig could tell
the tales of those who escaped and relate the circumstances that led to their
voyages:
“With their
bare hands, university professors had to scrub the streets; pious, bearded Jews
were dragged into the temple and forced by howling young goons to do deep knee
bends and shout ‘Heil Hitler’ in chorus. They rounded up innocent people on the
street like rabbits and marched them to the SA barracks to clean the toilets.”*
bare hands, university professors had to scrub the streets; pious, bearded Jews
were dragged into the temple and forced by howling young goons to do deep knee
bends and shout ‘Heil Hitler’ in chorus. They rounded up innocent people on the
street like rabbits and marched them to the SA barracks to clean the toilets.”*
Gradually
the wealthy sensed the danger and started to weigh the option of escaping.
the wealthy sensed the danger and started to weigh the option of escaping.
“Every group
of people appeared more miserable and frightened than the one preceding it. The
first groups that left Germany and Austria were successful in rescuing their
clothes, belongings and furniture — some even managed to take some money; as
for those who maintained their faith in Germany and had difficulty extracting
themselves from their beloved country, they were punished severely.
of people appeared more miserable and frightened than the one preceding it. The
first groups that left Germany and Austria were successful in rescuing their
clothes, belongings and furniture — some even managed to take some money; as
for those who maintained their faith in Germany and had difficulty extracting
themselves from their beloved country, they were punished severely.
“The Jews
were first stripped of their positions and were forbidden from visiting
theaters, cinemas and museums; professors were denied the use of their offices.
Despite all this, they did not leave the country, out of fidelity or
heedlessness, cowardice or arrogance. They preferred living humiliated in their
own country to living as beggars outside it. They were no longer able to employ
anyone; radios and telephones were confiscated from their homes and then the
houses themselves were confiscated. They were forced to wear the Star of David
as identification and were avoided and ostracized like lepers.
were first stripped of their positions and were forbidden from visiting
theaters, cinemas and museums; professors were denied the use of their offices.
Despite all this, they did not leave the country, out of fidelity or
heedlessness, cowardice or arrogance. They preferred living humiliated in their
own country to living as beggars outside it. They were no longer able to employ
anyone; radios and telephones were confiscated from their homes and then the
houses themselves were confiscated. They were forced to wear the Star of David
as identification and were avoided and ostracized like lepers.
Then they
were kicked out and stripped of all their legal rights and exposed with
arbitrary sadism to all types of spiritual and physical cruelty […]. Those who
did not leave were thrown in concentration camps where the German officer
squashed even the most arrogant among them before sending him to the border
robbed of everything except for his backpack and 10 marks in his pocket.”*
were kicked out and stripped of all their legal rights and exposed with
arbitrary sadism to all types of spiritual and physical cruelty […]. Those who
did not leave were thrown in concentration camps where the German officer
squashed even the most arrogant among them before sending him to the border
robbed of everything except for his backpack and 10 marks in his pocket.”*
This tragic
situation deteriorated quickly as the departing train became a transport train
carrying quasi-human creatures with pale, dirty faces, sunken eyes, a restless
gaze and cracked lips. Frightened creatures, defeated, confused and exhausted,
were led in columns in complete surrender and defeat, like a troop of wasted
cows, to the train wagons.
situation deteriorated quickly as the departing train became a transport train
carrying quasi-human creatures with pale, dirty faces, sunken eyes, a restless
gaze and cracked lips. Frightened creatures, defeated, confused and exhausted,
were led in columns in complete surrender and defeat, like a troop of wasted
cows, to the train wagons.
Fate will be
kind to Zweig as it was toward his mother, he will not witness this horrific
development. History will write that the best and truest literary figure of his
time did not bear living homeless in exile. Along with his wife Elisabeth
Charlotte, Zweig committed suicide in Petropolis, Brazil on Feb. 23, 1942.
kind to Zweig as it was toward his mother, he will not witness this horrific
development. History will write that the best and truest literary figure of his
time did not bear living homeless in exile. Along with his wife Elisabeth
Charlotte, Zweig committed suicide in Petropolis, Brazil on Feb. 23, 1942.
At the same
time, the Nazi party believed it had reached the culmination of its thought and
moved to its execution. The moment had come to establish racial “homogeneity”
among the pure German people whose unadulterated lineage of constitution and
coloring was selected out of all people. Toward that end, “the selected people
of the earth” had to decimate “the chosen people of God.”
time, the Nazi party believed it had reached the culmination of its thought and
moved to its execution. The moment had come to establish racial “homogeneity”
among the pure German people whose unadulterated lineage of constitution and
coloring was selected out of all people. Toward that end, “the selected people
of the earth” had to decimate “the chosen people of God.”
Could the
German citizen during the time of “Hitler’s train” ever imagine that this
locomotive was going one day to be carrying watchful fearful people adhering to
a different religion, members of a different ethnicity, carriers of other
languages and identities entering from outside Europe into the heart of Germany
— thus becoming transformed into a train of hope and good tidings?
German citizen during the time of “Hitler’s train” ever imagine that this
locomotive was going one day to be carrying watchful fearful people adhering to
a different religion, members of a different ethnicity, carriers of other
languages and identities entering from outside Europe into the heart of Germany
— thus becoming transformed into a train of hope and good tidings?
This is in
fact what did happen in 2015, when Chancellor Angela Merkel directed all
countries neighboring Germany to put their trains in the service of the groups
escaping the furnaces of their own countries. While German Jews escaped in a
moment when the conscience of the world slept and morality turned a blind eye,
the cameras watched now as the train packed with women and children, old and
young people coming from Syria, and others who slipped in with them, entered
Germany from the neighboring countries.
fact what did happen in 2015, when Chancellor Angela Merkel directed all
countries neighboring Germany to put their trains in the service of the groups
escaping the furnaces of their own countries. While German Jews escaped in a
moment when the conscience of the world slept and morality turned a blind eye,
the cameras watched now as the train packed with women and children, old and
young people coming from Syria, and others who slipped in with them, entered
Germany from the neighboring countries.
The escapees
were exhausted, their clothes shabby, dirtied and stained, their shoes
worn-down and torn, most of them limping on their swollen, inflamed and
purulent feet, their faces grimy, dusty and tanned by the constant exposure to
the air and sun. Only their eyes shone with the light of hope and expectancy.
were exhausted, their clothes shabby, dirtied and stained, their shoes
worn-down and torn, most of them limping on their swollen, inflamed and
purulent feet, their faces grimy, dusty and tanned by the constant exposure to
the air and sun. Only their eyes shone with the light of hope and expectancy.
The Syrian
on the train escaped the same conditions that led the German Jew previously to
escape, for the Assad Baath regime has found no more suitable example to copy
than the Nazis.
on the train escaped the same conditions that led the German Jew previously to
escape, for the Assad Baath regime has found no more suitable example to copy
than the Nazis.
Both parties
are national socialist in affiliation and both attempt to impose ethnic
homogeneity; both built crematoriums and both are founded on the worship and
deification of their leader.
are national socialist in affiliation and both attempt to impose ethnic
homogeneity; both built crematoriums and both are founded on the worship and
deification of their leader.
The
followers of Hitler chanted: “Hitler is greater than the Messiah” while those
of Hafez al-Assad danced and repeated: “Hafez al-Assad, we worship before God.”
The pigeons among the followers of the son — Bashar — cooed: “God, Syria,
Bashar and nothing else,” while their batons were breaking on the bodies of
their prey. They stood screaming at their victims with the anger of this world
and the next: “Who is your God?” Forcing the agonizing victim to pronounce its
last words: “Bashar is my God.“
followers of Hitler chanted: “Hitler is greater than the Messiah” while those
of Hafez al-Assad danced and repeated: “Hafez al-Assad, we worship before God.”
The pigeons among the followers of the son — Bashar — cooed: “God, Syria,
Bashar and nothing else,” while their batons were breaking on the bodies of
their prey. They stood screaming at their victims with the anger of this world
and the next: “Who is your God?” Forcing the agonizing victim to pronounce its
last words: “Bashar is my God.“
As the
persecuted Germans escaped before the beast of Nazism, so did the persecuted
Syrians escape before the monster of Baathist Assadism. They took to the sea,
heedless of the possibility of drowning — escape being their only choice;
absolute hopelessness equal to hope and life equal to death — their chances of
survival were no greater than their chances of drowning. They took what they
considered a fair chance, instead of remaining under the yoke of the ruthless
regime.
persecuted Germans escaped before the beast of Nazism, so did the persecuted
Syrians escape before the monster of Baathist Assadism. They took to the sea,
heedless of the possibility of drowning — escape being their only choice;
absolute hopelessness equal to hope and life equal to death — their chances of
survival were no greater than their chances of drowning. They took what they
considered a fair chance, instead of remaining under the yoke of the ruthless
regime.
If Hitler
brought more evil to the world than anyone else in the centuries preceding him,
Bashar al-Assad produced more evil in Syria than anyone has before.
brought more evil to the world than anyone else in the centuries preceding him,
Bashar al-Assad produced more evil in Syria than anyone has before.
Europe was
the victim of one man’s lust for power, and Syria became the victim of one
man’s lust for power and the craving of his family members for all that power
delivers — regardless of how vile and futile.
the victim of one man’s lust for power, and Syria became the victim of one
man’s lust for power and the craving of his family members for all that power
delivers — regardless of how vile and futile.
German
consciousness was at the height of its alertness, its moral vision at its
utmost clarity on the day Germany decided that the Syrian refugee escaping the
ruthlessness of the Assad regime is similar to the German escapee from the
Nazis. For nothing will wipe away the shame of the previous train — at once a
funeral and a graveyard — better than a subsequent train that would stand as a
womb of life and a doorway to hope and expectancy for those who have lost all:
A train of embrace between people, of meeting, assistance and comfort.
consciousness was at the height of its alertness, its moral vision at its
utmost clarity on the day Germany decided that the Syrian refugee escaping the
ruthlessness of the Assad regime is similar to the German escapee from the
Nazis. For nothing will wipe away the shame of the previous train — at once a
funeral and a graveyard — better than a subsequent train that would stand as a
womb of life and a doorway to hope and expectancy for those who have lost all:
A train of embrace between people, of meeting, assistance and comfort.
And that is
how it was. Along the path and stations of this train, along countries, cities
and towns — human masses of helpers, volunteers in humanitarian organizations
and individual Europeans, stood offering welcoming words and smiles, giving
hugs, water, meals, fruits and desserts and presenting clothes, shoes and toys
for the kids.
how it was. Along the path and stations of this train, along countries, cities
and towns — human masses of helpers, volunteers in humanitarian organizations
and individual Europeans, stood offering welcoming words and smiles, giving
hugs, water, meals, fruits and desserts and presenting clothes, shoes and toys
for the kids.
The
happiness of those Europeans was equal to the happiness of a family welcoming a
newborn! As if they were thinking to themselves: “If humanity is agonizing in
one place, there is another place where it can bud and bloom.”
happiness of those Europeans was equal to the happiness of a family welcoming a
newborn! As if they were thinking to themselves: “If humanity is agonizing in
one place, there is another place where it can bud and bloom.”
And thus, it
came about that humanity witnessed two trains within two close periods of time,
a train of anguish and a train of solace: Hitler’s train and Merkel’s train.
May the second train wipe away the shame of the first.
came about that humanity witnessed two trains within two close periods of time,
a train of anguish and a train of solace: Hitler’s train and Merkel’s train.
May the second train wipe away the shame of the first.
* Stefan
Zweig: “The World of Yesterday.” 1942
Zweig: “The World of Yesterday.” 1942
This article
was translated by Hind Rafai and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility
for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the
author.
was translated by Hind Rafai and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility
for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the
author.
Syrianobserver
Mohamad Amir Nasher Alneam